It's Raining
by Dreaming of Everything
Summary: HB. Because my muse ordered I write it. Hiei, via an interesting mating instinct, has fallen in love with Botan, who doesn't know quite what to think. Yet. FINISHED!
1. Beginnings

**It's Raining**  
by Dreaming of Everything

**A/N**: This is a definite Hiei and Botan fic, no exceptions. No changes for any reason at all. All other pairings are up in the air, though I'm partial to Yusuke/Keiko.

Why did I write this? I mean, I'm not an excellent writer; what makes me think that I can do a better job than all the (highly) superior writers who have done Hiei and Botan fics before me? Well, I was reading and I realized that the number of fics where Botan falls for Hiei first vastly outnumber the opposite ones. Also, I wasn't finding any new fics and nobody was updating. So I wrote something. Oh, hell, let's just put it down to undiagnosed obsessive-compulsive disorder. And the fact that I never pass up a chance to mess with characters.

This will be a low PG-13 on the ratings scale, or its equivalent; rating is for use of the word 'sex,' occasional language and potential kissing scenarios. The rating is mostly for safety's sake. Also, it centers around demons mating. No lemons will be used in the fic. Or even lemonade.

The bold print indicates mental conversations. The italics are quotes from various non-existent sources that have information about my (somewhat altered) Japanese mythology. I've changed it slightly to close up plot holes. Feel free to flame me for that reason. Please don't for any other reasons; it wreaks havoc on my self-esteem, which has troubles as it is.

OOCness on Hiei's part is because he's got this huge overdose of demon sex hormones. It messes with him.

**Disclaimer**: Yu Yu Hakusho doesn't belong to me. Consider it disclaimed. The plot is mine. The books Demonogy, Demon, On the Habits of Demons, Demonic Sociology, The Demon Debates, Utterly Lovely, Entirely in Love and the poem 'Moonlight' a) don't exist and b) are mine, seeing as I made them up, ditto their authors.

_"The marking habits of demons are both laden with symbolism and entirely instinctual. For the bond between two demons to be formed, one must bite the other at the junction of the shoulders and neck. The bond is irremovable, and will be sensed by all other demons; the connection is strengthened if the act is replicated by the other, or if blood is taken. The act is almost always accompanied by a completed mating..."_

_--Demonology by (author unknown)_

_"Death is the only way to break a mark; to separate themselves, a pair must fight till one falls."_

_--Demon by Jethra_

It was raining. The sky glimmered over-head, steely with indirect light from a break in the clouds far off on the horizon; each drop of water shimmered with refracted light.

Botan hovered above a busy city, though she wasn't watching it. Instead, she was looking out above it, at the falling rain, watching the patterns it formed as it fell, blown by the wind and pulled by gravity. Rain had always fascinated her. Her pink kimono was dark with water, and strands of her hair were plastered to her face; she had been there a while, and was unlikely to leave soon.

The normally bouncy girl looked remarkably solemn, face serious and almost sorrowful. Botan was... lonely. She had friends, but no one... loved her. She knew _why_. She wasn't dead in the common sense of the word, but neither was she alive, and everyone else like her were, well, ferry **girls.** People had asked if her and Koenma were "romantically involved," but she viewed Koenma as an older brother. That would be just **wrong**.

And so Botan was lonely. Alone. It was better now she knew Yusuke, Kuwabara and Kurama, and Shizuru, Yukina and Keiko, but they were friends. Nothing more.

As for Hiei? Well, Hiei scared her. It wasn't just the death threats, and his past (she of all people should know that the past is dead and done with) but how little he cared. The only person he could be considered friends with, Kurama, he would never refer to as a friend. The only other person he cared for, Yukina, he refused to tell who he was, accidentally hurting her more.

So something in her had made her come up to watch the rain. Maybe it matched her mood. She always liked it when it rained, and generally it brightened her up, but today it made her thoughtful, and thoughtfully sad. Botan absent-mindedly brushed a wet strand of hair out of her eyes, normally pink or purple, but today a melancholy purple-washed blue.

Both mentally and physically shaking herself, she turned her attention away from the beautifully sorrowful rain and back to what she needed to do. Today was her day off, and she had nothing to do until school let out for Keiko. She skillfully piloted her oar a ways away from the city, to a more secluded area, where she landed. Looking at the tall maples that surrounded her, leafed out now that it was later on in the spring, she started walking down the road that led to the city. She had a few hours before she needed to be back, and a walk sounded nice. A walk in the rain.

Hiei was nearly staring as ferry onna walked away from his tree, down the road that led to town. What on earth was wrong with her? She never looked that serious. Normally she was smiling at least, or laughing. It was the most annoying thing about her, actually. But now? She looked almost painfully sad, as if she was already crying, and only the rain was hiding it.

The fire demon shook himself. He couldn't care less about whatever the idiot was feeling. He had only imagined that much sorrow on her face; it was probably just annoyance at the rain. Yeah, that was it. She was always eternally happy, and a sorrow as big as the one he saw on her would never have remained hidden this long.

Still though, she looked so sad...

No. It had nothing to do with him. Nothing at all...

_"The severity of instinctual urges caused by the demon mating season are greatly exaggerated; in reality, the demon in question is likely to merely have an increase in what is often termed "interesting dreams" and be more open to advances by others. However, in the case that the demon has an interest, no matter how slight, in another person, the demonic instinct will be highly unmanageable. The interesting factor in this is that the demon may have no knowledge of the interest until the instinct begins to affect him..."_

_--On the Habits of Demons by Professor Jonothon Ringgold._

Hiei was having trouble sleeping. Something kept on niggling at him... Maybe the light from the moon was keeping him up? Wait... Full moon. Late spring... Mating season.

Swearing slightly under his breath, the demon climbed out of his tree; at the base of it he was met by Kurama.

"You remembered? I thought I'd remind you that tonight's the first night of mating season."

"I couldn't sleep."

"'Interesting' dreams?"

"Hn."

"No? So, there's someone you're interested in? Who?"

"There's no one."

Kurama sighed. "There has to be someone. It's only the first night, and already you're restless."

Hiei growled slightly.

"You'll know better than anyone who it is."

"There's no one."

"Did somebody catch your eye, recently?"

"**No**.** One**."

"Someone who was nice to Yukina?"

"**Nobody.**"

"You can't keep on denying it. You know that only makes it worse. And if you want to impress this girl, a losing control and mating her with or without her consent is unlikely to work."

"**Go**.** Away**."

"If you insist."

As Kurama walked away, Hiei climbed back up his tree. It was going to be along night. A long, **long,** night. One with nine more nights just like it coming, only worse.

_"Demons as a species tend to be emotionally unavailable, cut off from their feelings. Emotions are viewed as a weakness, meaning that child-raising would be done for as short a time as possible by one parent, even though most demons admit that it's superior to care for the child for a long period of time with both parents. Long-term emotional bonds would be considered dangerous. Marking would occur only rarely, but for the phenomena of a unique branch of demon instinct. This instinct makes it a) very difficult to mate without marking and b) makes it very difficult for the demon to resist mating and marking with someone **but only when the instinct has found someone it considers a good mate**, probably to prevent bad pairings The demon himself rarely has any choice in the matter, though often realizes the attraction. In some cases, however, a person the demon would never approach is chosen by the instinct and suddenly becomes nearly irresistible..."_

_--Demonic Sociology by Theodore Levens and Louisa Terents_

_"There is a lot of debate over demonic mating rituals. On one side is the belief that the instinct alone picks the potential mate, while on the other side is the idea that the instinct picks up on subconscious preferences of the demon. Demons themselves stay out of the debate, figuring that it's useless; either way, the job gets done."_

_-The Demon Debates by Beth Livingry_

Hiei was angry. Very, very angry. For his entire, and long, life, he had never had a mating season that made any difference in his life other than a few "interesting dreams." Nothing he had experienced so far had prepared him for this. The _intensity_ he was feeling... What made it worse was that he didn't even know **who** the urges were directed towards, just that they were there. It was the early morning of the second day; he hadn't gotten any sleep the night before, instead training himself, trying to use up all this restless energy. It hadn't worked that well; he no longer had any energy, just a lot of restlessness and an urge to mate with **someone.**

Quite honestly, Hiei didn't want to find out who he wanted to mate with. Ignorance was the key in this situation. He had no need for a mate, no one he was interested in, definitely **no** need for any emotional connections to hold him down.

_"...and what of the miracle that is love?"_

_--Moonlight (author unknown)_

_"Curiously enough, during the mating season, while a demon's first instinct is fairly typical, i.e. sex, and a lot of it, as quickly as possible, it is also accompanied by a desire to be kind and helpful to the potential mate. This is probably linked to the marking ritual which in turn is linked to mating; essentially raping a potential mate and then finding yourself forever linked to them would not work well. Consensual sex would prevent tensions caused by the other method..."_

_----Demonic Sociology by Theodore Levens and Louisa Terents_

Botan was much cheerier this morning than she had been the day before. She had had fun with Keiko, had a good nights' sleep in her apartment, cooked herself a nice breakfast and then finished painting the last wall. Now it was noon, and Kurama was coming over to help with her patio garden and furniture moving. She had a nice lunch ready for him (after all, he was going to be helping her!) and everything. All in all, she was in an excellent mood.

...Except for still feeling slightly lonely, underneath all her other emotions. She buried it, though, knowing that there was no other option. No use crying over spilt milk...

Botan's doorbell rang, and she hurried over to it. "Hi Kurama! Thanks for offering to put in a patio garden for me. All the supplies you asked for are out on the deck, but I thought you'd like lunch first."

"Why, thank you, lunch sounds great." They both sat down and had a good, if simple, lunch. Botan wasn't an accomplished cook, but she could manage, if she concentrated enough. It was when she _didn't_ concentrate that there was problems.

After lunch Kurama went out onto the deck, where he started filling several large pots with plants, mostly ornamental foliage plants, with a few flowering plants and the occasional makai plant with instructions to protect the house and Botan. He finished fairly quickly, leaving Botan with a balcony lush with foliage and dotted with a few bright blooms. The entire set was crowned with a pot filled with water and a lotus just opening its first bud, revealing the color as a soft cream. It was, in a word, gorgeous.

"Wow! This is gorgeous!" exclaimed Botan once Kurama had finished. An hour and a half of moving furniture after he finished that made Botan's apartment mostly done, and Kurama left to Botan giving him even more, highly energetic, thanks.

As she shut the door behind him she flopped onto her couch with a sigh. She had no idea what to do now... She hadn't had free time in so long that now that she did she didn't know what to do with it. Actually, just sitting and relaxing was really nice...

(rewind slightly)

It was noon and Hiei needed to do **some**thing. Anything to get his mind off of, well, everything. Mating season, sex, females in general, marking, all of it.

So, with nothing else to do, Hiei went looking for Kurama. If nothing else, the fox could spar with him. A fight might absorb him for a while.

So he found himself at Botan's new apartment, where he had tracked down Kurama. As he crouched in a tree next to her apartment, watching the two eat lunch together, he was surprised by a sudden spike of jealousy. But that meant that **Botan** was the person his instinct wanted him to mate... **Botan?** The baka ferry onna? The annoying, bubbly, cheerful, friendshippy happy Botan? The un-grim reaper? **Her?**

He leaned back against his tree, stunned. Why her? Why not anyone else? Even the annoying girl who was always slapping Yusuke would be better. **Anyone** else, other than **her.**

Now he _really_ needed to talk to Kurama. Badly.

He settled in to wait.

_"Love is both wonderful and frightening; opening yourself to someone completely, making yourself totally vulnerable, is both exhilarating and a source of joy in trusting someone and scary, all at once. Love is a paradox..."_

_--Utterly Lovely, Entirely in Love: A Romance Novel_ _by Psued O'Nym._

As Kurama left Botan's house he was startled to find a slightly wild-eyed Hiei facing him.

"Well?" he asked.

"I need your help," admitted Hiei. Kurama raised an eyebrow; whatever had happened must be serious. Hiei didn't even look like he had noticed he had just _asked_ for help.

"We'll go to the park; it's cloudy again today, we should be alone."

A few minutes later found Hiei up another tree, Kurama leaning against its trunk, both talking mentally using Hiei's jagan.

**What happened?** asked Kurama straight off.

**I found out who my instinct picked out,** said Hiei tersely.

**Well, who is it? It can't be that bad.**

**...Botan.**

**Botan?**

**'Can't be that bad?'**

**It could be worse. It could be... umm... hmm.**

**Hn.**

**I know! Genkai!**

**_Fox..._ **said Hiei, mental voice laden with heavy menace.

**Well, what are you going to do?** said Kurama, recovering from the shock and starting to take it seriously. He knew as well as any demon that the mating instincts rarely chose wrong, and also that the urges they gave off were nearly impossible to resist.

**I don't know.**

**You can't go somewhere else, you can run too well once the instinct takes over completely. You're too strong to contain if you're really determined, and I doubt you'll be able to keep from giving in to instinct, not if you're this bad two days in. Your mating season lasts 10 days, right?**

**Hn.**

**The way I see it, you try to hold out and probably rape her, you could explain it to her and see if she'll let you mate her but not mark her early on, or you could let the season run its course, try to make her love you and then mate and mark her.**

**NO! I'm not mating the baka onna and I'm not marking her.**

**You need to tell her, at least, Hiei. You know you'll probably lose control, and she should know why you'll force her to your bed, at least.**

**Hn.**

**If you don't, I will.**

**...yes. I will.**

**Good. We're going now.**

Botan stirred as she heard a knock on her door. Stumbling slightly over her coffee table as she went over to it, she opened it to find Hiei and Kurama.

"Hello!" she said cheerily, hiding her surprise. "Come in!"

Hiei was having to work harder at restraining himself than he ever had before. Every instinct was screaming at him to do something; half of him wanted him to mark her there and then, and then mate her, while the other half wanted him to say something nice. "Hn. Stupid ferry onna." he said, refusing to give in to either instinct.

The hurt on Botan's face made him feel surprisingly guilty, setting off a sharp pang that twinged at him.

Botan was hurt. Hiei **would** have to show up and remind her of who she was... It was easier for everyone, especially her, if she tried to forget. Deciding to ignore him now that her good mood was spoiled, she led Kurama into her living room, chatting with him about this and that.

As she left the room Hiei caught fear, anger and sorrow in her scent, bitter and heavy. _Anger... she is angry at me. But fear? What does she fear?_ Some part of him refused to answer that it was **him **she feared. _Sorrow? What has made her so sad? I've called her that before, but she's never reacted this strongly... Why do I feel so guilty?_

_"When instinct has chosen a mate for a demon, instead of the demon itself, a strong protective urge and a need to comfort and care for the other will occur, mixed with an urge to mark the other as theirs immediately and mate, simultaneously. The latter will happen if the partner is willing; if not, however, the urge will fade while the protective urge will increase. This stage is sometimes known as a 'courting' phase, to use a human word. During this time period the two demons will get to know each other. If, at the end of this time, mating occurs, all the typical mating instincts will return and avoiding marking will be nearly impossible. If mating does not occur or the two abandon the 'courting' before the time period is over, at the end of it the two will go their separate ways and nothing will come of it, though tensions may remain between the two..."_

_--Demon Mating Habits: A Scientific Study by Erich Baumer_

Hiei followed Botan and Kurama, coming into the living room just as Botan started laughing at something Kurama had just said, leaning against him for support as her body shook. A growl sprang, unbidden, to his lips. _Wait... I'm growling at Kurama? Because I'm jealous over the ferry onna?_

While Botan hadn't heard the growls, Kurama had. Glancing pointedly in Hiei's direction, he turned to face Botan.

"I'm afraid we're here on serious business. Hiei?"

Hiei swallowed suddenly as Botan turned to look at him. Her face was almost serious, as if she wasn't smiling underneath, and her eyes were opaque with some muddled emotion. Fear was still there, and sorrow, and...loneliness? Why was the onna lonely?

Realizing he hadn't spoken yet, he shook his head imperceptibly and started. "This week and the half of the next one are the demon mating season. You know how that works, onna?"

At Botan's affirmative nod he continued. "Then you know that instinct picks the mate sometimes? Mine's chosen you."

"**_What_**?" said Botan, horror curling over her face in a slow wave.

"I wouldn't tell you, except that it's unlikely I'll be able to control myself. The instinct... is not designed to be controllable."

"You want to mate with me?"

"My **instinct** does. **I **certainly don't."

"Oh." Botan's face fell, and a few seconds later a tear fell into her lap.

In a split second Hiei was at her side, feeling a ridiculous urge to comfort her, help her, do anything to make her feel better...

"What's wrong, Botan?" asked Kurama softly as another tear fell.

"I... I..."

Hiei gave up and, loosening the bandanna around his head, scanned her mind with his jagan. "You think no one will love you?"

A small, shameful nod agreed.

Carefully, gingerly, Hiei rested his hand on Botan's shoulder. "Why?" he asked.

"I'm not dead, and I'm not alive, and I'm not human and I'm not demon. I'm just someone stuck in the middle..."

"Botan..." began Kurama, before letting Hiei take over. This was actually very interesting...

"You're nice to everyone. You're cheery, you do your best to help, you're a good friend. You're beautiful... Why won't anyone love you?" **Why **did he want to be so nice to her?

"..." Botan looked at the fire demon beside her, half-scowling and resting a comforting hand against her, bandanna still slightly loose.

"If... if I'm all that you just said, why do you hate me?"

"I don't hate you.

"Oh..." Botan turned, tears forming again. "Then why am I so horrible? Why do you never call me by name? Why is the idea of me so repulsive that you're instinct choosing me makes you scramble for any other option?"

"I... I don't know." admitted Hiei. He knew, once he'd said it, that everything he'd stated was true. But everything she had said had been true too...

Luminescent pink eyes verging on a light fuchsia, still starry with tears, turned to lock with bright red ones.

"Why should I believe you?" asked Botan.

"You shouldn't. You don't." said Hiei, turning to leave, fighting the urge to turn back. A hand reaching out to catch his wrist stopped him.

"But I do," said Botan.

Silence fell, before Kurama spoke again. "Hiei, maybe you should rethink your decision? I think maybe your instinct was right. You obviously don't hate each other as much as you thought, not anymore, at least. And you know you'd lose control. Do you know what that would do to Botan?"

Hiei did. He could imagine the uncontrolled rush of emotions and instinctive urges that would cause the act, and then the fear, the broken look that Botan would have, the lack of trust, the hatred for him she would harbor... He couldn't imagine living with that. Living with himself if he did that to her... And being bonded to her, bound forever by a small scar right where the neck flows into the shoulder, and never being able to leave...

"Yes. I...understand. Botan, I don't really know you and I never really liked you, but I think that's changed. Would you spend time with me, to... learn about each other?"

"I... Yes, I would."

"Well, Hiei, we should probably leave Botan to her own devices. She's got... a lot to think about."

"Will you come by tomorrow morning?" asked Botan softly, shyly. "If we're going to get to know each other..."

"Hn."

"That's Hiei for 'yes,'" said Kurama with a slight smile, one that Botan returned. "Bye!"

"Bye Kurama! Good bye, Hiei!"

"Bye, Botan," said Kurama.

"Bye, onna."

Botan flopped back on her couch, heaving a big sigh. "I don't think I'm entirely sure what just happened..."

The phone ringing a while later interrupted her thoughts. She heaved herself to her feet, walked over and picked it up. "Hello, Botan here,"

"Hi Botan! It's Keiko. I've decided to hold a girls night tonight--I'm inviting Yukina too."

"You know, that sounds great. What time is it now? Five? I'll just take a quick shower, eat some dinner and be over by six. I have news. **Big** news."

Botan walked into the bathroom, turning the water on as hot as she could stand and waiting for it to heat up before stripping and getting under the warm rush. As she washed, luxuriating in the miracle of very hot running water, she thought over what had happened that afternoon. _Does Hiei really think I'm everything he said I am? Nice, a good friend, beautiful? Or is that just the mating instinct? Will he even show up tomorrow? Why does he want to get to know me better--is he considering me as a mate after all? I wonder what he's doing now..._

Hiei was actually sitting in the tree he had waited for Kurama in, a big maple higher than Botan's third-floor apartment. _Why did I say what I did about her? I don't think it was just the mating instinct. Or is it? Do I really like her that much? Why did my opinions change so much? Why do I want to get to know her better? For that matter, why does **she** want to get to know me better? Is she considering me as a potential mate...? Am I considering her? I wonder what she's doing right now..._

He watched through a window as she came out of her bathroom, dripping wet and wrapped in a big fluffy towel. Hiei was **very** pleased to note that the 'grab her, mate her, mark her' instinct had receded now that he was in a 'courtship' period. **_Very_** pleased.

Botan walked into her bedroom, coming out five or so minutes later dressed in a white tank top and a flowing white skirt. She looked very thoughtful, and very serious, with a worried suspicion clouding her face. A backpack was slung over her shoulder, and she deposited it by the door before walking into her kitchen, where she rummaged through the refrigerator. Pulling out a carton of leftover takeout Chinese she grabbed a pair of chopsticks and began eating standing up, obviously a hurried meal.

Finishing quickly she grabbed her bag and left the apartment, carefully locking it behind her. _Not that she needs to,_ thought Hiei. _Kurama's warded the place with his plants and all of the Reikai Tantei would go after anyone who invaded her space, even... me?_

Following behind the oblivious girl as she walked down the street, turning here and there, obviously one she'd walked before he grew more and more puzzled. What **was** she doing?

He was answered when she knocked on the door of a house, which was answered almost immediately by Keiko, who greeted her excitedly, answered with equal excitement in Botan. Realizing where she had been going he left, knowing she was safe; Yusuke had made sure Keiko's house was more than as safe as she'd need it.

Once Botan was inside she was greeted by the other girl, Yukina.

"You said you had news?" said Keiko happily.

"Yeah. This might sound weird, so just hear me out?"

There was a silence, everyone obviously waiting for her to continue.

"Well, Hiei and Kurama showed up at my apartment this afternoon, and Hiei told me that his instinct had picked me as his next mate and he was warning me in case he couldn't control it. Then Hiei told me that his instinct wanted to mate with me, not him at all. It just echoed something I've been dwelling on lately, about how nobody really **loved** me, and I broke down and started crying--this is where it gets _weird_--and Hiei comes over and comforts me, and tells me that of _course_ someone will love me, because I'm a good friend, and nice, and beautiful...So I ask him why he hated me, and he says he doesn't know. Then Kurama says that Hiei probably wouldn't be able to control himself, so we should probably work out another method, because we don't seem to hate each other too much after all. So we agree to have a sort of period of time to get to know each other..." The last part of the epic paragraph was done more and more quickly, Botan obviously confused and slightly embarrassed.

"**He **did **what?**" yelped a voice from behind the door. Scowling, Keiko walked over to it, yanking it open.

"**Yusuke Urameshi**," she said, a dangerous glint coming into her eyes. "What **_exactly_ **were you doing behind my door?"

"Well, I dropped by to say hello, and your mom sent me up here. I just sort of over-heard you?"

Botan was blushing bright pink and had her head buried in her hands. "I'm so _embarrassed_," she moaned.

"I'll...just be leaving, then?" said Yusuke, making an abrupt about-turn and dash for the stairs.

"You are **dead**, Urameshi, **dead!**" yelled Keiko after him. Turning away, she said to Botan, "I think he knows enough not to tell anyone," in a simultaneously hopeless and comforting tone.

"You've been lonely?" asked Yukina. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"Well," began Botan, "In a way, I think I felt almost selfish, because I've got so many nice friends, and it really isn't all that important... I just wanted someone to love me, I think, and I've been more sad recently because of it...There wasn't anything you could do, and it's such a _little_ sorrow..."

"You really should have told us, Botan," said Keiko, wrapping her in a hug. "Even if we can't help, you deserve to have someone to talk too."

"Thanks," said Botan, looking slightly ashamed of herself and more than slightly relieved. "On the other hand, what do you think Hiei meant with his courtship offer?"

Yukina frowned slightly with thought. "I almost think of Hiei as an adoptive brother, the way he's always looked out for me; he's not as unemotional or cold as he tries to make people think. He'd do anything to save me, at least, and I think that the more time he spends with us, the more he's opening up. And if his instinct picked you, you're most likely a good mate for him."

"What do you think of him?" asked Keiko. "That's important too."

"I... I don't know. He used to scare me slightly, always threatening people, and how he refused to connect with anyone, and was so cut off from his emotions, how much he denied them, but... but this afternoon he was different. There was this soft look in his eyes, like he wanted to help me... And then, when he was comforting me... I realized that there's this whole other side to him that I've never seen."

"Yes, I've seen that," said Yukina softly.

"So why _did_ you agree to a--how did you put it? Courtship period?"

"I'm...not entirely sure. On one side, I do want to get to know him better, and he's less likely to loose control and rape me, but on the other it means that I'm considering him as a mate. Does that mean he's considering me as one, or is it just instinct? Is it just a way to keep him from losing control and forcing me to do... things?"

"I don't think so," said Yukina softly. "I think he might learn to like you at the least, maybe love you. Demon mating instincts are good at picking compatible partners; there are a lot of cases of two people who don't know each other well falling in love."

"I just don't know..." sighed Botan. "I just don't know."

**Ending A/N**: Well, what do you think? Maybe if you yell _really loudly_ at your computer I'll hear you! If that doesn't work, why don't you **leave a review**... Not that I'm hinting, or anything.

Till next chapter, then!


	2. Chapter Two

**It's Raining** **Chapter Two**

A/N: Okay, here we go again! A few notes for this chapter: I'm making this a momentary cross-over with Inuyasha, largely because I think I need someone Botan can connect with, i.e. somebody in an even more confusing relationship with a demon/half demon. I think she needs a friend who'll understand her...

I was absolutely blown away by the number of reviews I got! Thank-you all! It makes me feel like one of those **really** good writers who have their _own_ fan following and people doing fan-art and etc.

My sincerest apologies ahead of time for the fight scene later on; it's most certainly not well-written. Fighting and fight scenes just aren't my thing. It's like pulling teeth, only I use fluff instead of pain killers.

On that note, I will attempt to get something nice and fluffy inserted towards the end of this chapter, which takes place on the third day of the mating season. Note the 'attempt.' I need to start pushing Hiei and Botan towards coupleness... Pity they're both so **stubborn**.

Another note thingy: anyone willing to beta? This is a long shot, but I'm probably willing to reciprocate, and I always like a second opinion...

**Shout-Outs!**

Arena Thanks! There're a surprising lot of H/B shippers, and I stumbled on one and fell in love… The rational part of me admits that it would never happen, but it's not really the majority of, well, me… Thanks for the review!

Emma: Thank you very much for the review! I hope you start writing soon; writing is the center of my entire life. I hope your friend doesn't end up killing you after all!

Silverchild of the winds: Babbling is always excused! I babble a lot myself. I'm glad you think this a feasible way to do one of the most unfeasible pairings yet!

Ryukotsusei: Don't worry, I'm updating very soon indeed! Phenomenally soon, for me… I'm glad you like my detail! I thrive off of the little details and tend to botch plots… Oh well! Thank you for reviewing!

Dannie-chan: I expect you to yell very loudly once you're better! I'm glad you liked my quoteness… And I'm updating sooner than I ever thought possible! 15 or so pages, too… I'm scaring **myself.**

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**Bold **type indicates a telepathic conversation; _italics _are thoughts or quotes from made-up books.

**Disclaimer**: All Inuyasha and YuYu Hakusho characters aren't mine, in any way shape or form. The books Demonology, Demon, On the Habits of Demons, Demonic Sociology, The Demon Debates, Utterly Lovely, Entirely in Love: A Romance Novel, Demon Mating Habits: A Scientific Study and L O V E: The Demon Edition are mine, as are their authors and the poems A Sorrow Song and Moonlight.

_"The most annoying thing about those two is how she refuses to accept that he's in love with her and he refuses to realize he's in love at all; it's like that story about the three blind people and the elephant, only the blind men are trying to make a cup of tea out of the elephant as well."_

_--Utterly Lovely, Entirely in Love: A Romance Novel by Psued O'Nym_

Hiei was trying to convince himself that it was merely instinct that made him want to be near Botan. Only instinct that made him want to discover, then fix, whatever had made her so sad before. Instinct alone that made him want to protect her with everything he had...

He managed it, mostly. It was really only mating instinct after all, there was nothing else to it. His instinct had chosen wrong, the statistical minority, he had agreed to "court" her to keep him from raping her, which he didn't want to do, **that** was why, he wasn't worried about how Botan would feel about that at all...

Hiei still knew he was lying to himself.

_"While the demon mating instinct is surprisingly subtle in its methods to induce mating and marking, it is still a sexual instinct. While it induces urges to pressure or encourage a partner into sex, it doesn't cause any long-term interest in the welfare of the partner, and no real concern for the state of the partner. It is trying to cause a marking which may be long-term and successful, through any means possible..."_

_--Demon Mating Habits: A Scientific Study by Erich Baumer_

_"It is debated whether the demon instinct when the 'courting' path is taken causes slightly more delicate attempts to an attempted mating or actual concern or care for the partner; most demons, however, report that the instinct itself causes the first reaction, but the general skill in choosing the potential markee and even more likely mate by the instinct causes 'instincts' more suited to a long-term relationship, one really meant to last..."_

_--The Demon Debates by Beth Livingry_

_"Love expresses itself differently in different people. There is 'general' love, the typical image displayed in romance novels, 'fierce' or 'burning' love, where the emotions are strong to the point of pain, and may express itself in violence, 'reticent' love, also known as 'secondary' love, where the emotion is nearly shy, and hidden; strong, but not obvious, and generally one-sided. The rarest form of love is protective, where someone wants to help a person with all their being, fill their souls with light, save them from anything that threatens them, keep them physically and emotionally safe."_

_--L O V E: The Demon Edition by Daniel Smithson_

The night passed quickly. The next morning Botan left for her apartment fairly early, knowing she was meeting Hiei there.

The apartment was still empty as she arrived, so she spent a little time tidying slightly, making sure everything was meticulously neat, humming to herself as she worked.

Hiei entered the apartment quietly a few minutes later, through a window, refusing to use the door. He walked into the living room he had met with Botan in before, to find the owner flopped despondently on the couch.

"What's wrong **now**, onna?" he half-demanded, not meaning to sound so _angry_.

"Koenma just called me; something urgent has come up, so I need to work today. I'm sorry... I can't spend time with you today. I _had _been looking forward to it, too..."

"Hn." Hiei didn't know why was sorry too.

Botan sighed quietly. "There really isn't much point to getting to know each other if I'm always busy. Oh well..."

Hiei had given up on figuring out _why_ he cared for the ferry onna. He just did; damn mating season. Doubly damned instinct. He refused to ask himself if he was entirely sure that it was just instinct.

"I should probably explain what's happening to Koenma," stated the ferry girl.

"Right," said the fire demon. "Take us to reikai, onna."

Botan looked up in surprise. Hiei wanted to come too? Why?

Noticing her uncomprehending look, Hiei explained further. "It's worse when I'm not around you, and if we're "courting," then we need to be around each other.

**A few minutes later:**

Botan half-ran behind Hiei as he walked (quickly!) through the hallways of reikai. Noticing that Botan was having trouble keeping up Hiei slowed down slightly, letting her walk at an easier pace. Botan gave him a puzzled look that eventually grew into a smile. She wasn't used to him being so considerate. Hiei wasn't sure why that smile felt so...nice, warming him up inside. The two of them were stared at by various people they passed; no one had ever thought they'd see the two of them looking so companionable.

Hiei swept into the Koenma's office, Botan behind him.

"Botan? There you are. Wait, **Hiei**? What are **you**, of all people, doing here?" said the god, looking up.

"I'll explain," said Botan to Hiei. "Koenma, Hiei's instinct has chosen me as a potential mate; we've agreed to a courting period."

Koenma stared at the two for a few minutes, stupefied.

"You're courting **Hiei** of all people? Do you know that demon courting most often ends in marking? Are you **really **this **stupid**?" interjected Koenma, collecting himself to the point where he could speak.

"Koenma," said Botan stiffly, "It's the best of the alternatives. What's more, Hiei has been very nice to me recently, and I don't see the harm in getting to know him better. At least this way there's a chance he won't mark me, unlike what would happen if he loses control."

"Okay, I know, it's just... I worry about you, Botan. You're like my sister, and I don't want to see you hurt," sighed Koenma. "Now that that's been said, Hiei, if you hurt her, you are worse than dead. I've got a cell in Reikai jail that's been... specially prepared."

"Oh good lord... I can _smell_ the testosterone." muttered Botan.

"Don't even suggest the _possibility_, Koenma spat out Hiei, repulsed by the idea. "I would never do _any_thing to hurt her..."

Botan turned to look at the little fire demon, surprise and...Something else in her eyes. "Hiei..." she began, softly.

Koenma alternated staring at Botan and Hiei. What the _hell_ was going on? He would have sworn that there was more than mating instinct in his eyes, and there was definitely more than simple lust... And Hiei was the last person he'd expect to lose control of his emotions; he kept them under tighter lock than the most protected reikei rooms; why did Hiei seem to think he'd lose control, and why now? Why **Botan**?

"Okay. I don't understand it, I don't think I **want** to understand it, but I'll deal with it. Botan... think before you act. Consider **all** the consequences. Hiei is a demon undergoing community service for major thievery; he's a known killer. Know what you're getting into..." finally stated Koenma.

"Yes, Koenma. Do I really have to work today? I'd had plans..."

"Yes, you do. There's been a strange death at a camp site a ways out of town; I've had to replace the murdered person with a shape-shifter so she can 'die' in different, more normal, way. You really do have to do it, along with the rest of the Reikai Tantei. Botan, here's a file on it."

Hiei turned slightly towards the door; he was ready to go. It had _hurt_ to hear Koenma remind Botan of what he had done. When had he stopped being proud of it? Hiei refused to think that it might have something to do with Botan. She was nothing to him, except for the fixation his mating instinct had struck him with. He didn't care for her at all...

He ignored the voice that whispered "_But you do, and you know it," _and stated, "My more...physical urges are stronger when I'm away from her... It's not a good idea."

Koenma's face visibly clouded over, displeasure flaring in it. "You're suggesting that you might rape her if you spend too long away from her?" he choked out.

Botan intervened quickly. "Koenma, sir, maybe we should go? Also, I'm afraid Hiei will need to spend a good amount of time with me each day to keep his instincts under control..."

"Hn," muttered Hiei in annoyed agreement. He did need to spend more time with the onna, but he didn't have to like the idea.

Koenma was surprised. He honestly hadn't expected Hiei to agree, no matter how reluctantly, to Botan's statement; he hadn't expected her to bring up the idea.

"Well..." he began, reluctantly."This isn't _normal_, but not a lot about this is. Botan, you may take time off to spend more time with Hiei; you'll only work with the Reikai Tantei. Be careful."

"Thank you Koenma!" exclaimed Botan happily, her face brightening. "Come on, Hiei."

A few minutes later found them in the air, wind whistling past them. Hiei sat behind Botan, disdaining to hold the oar, balancing himself carefully. There was no conversation; the wind was too loud.

Eventually the two reached a small clearing in the woods, empty except for a small fire pit and a clear stream burbling through one edge of it; the sky overhead was cloudy gray, illuminating the just-leafed-out trees with the stormy clarity of light that comes right before rain.

"It's pretty!" exclaimed Botan, walking around it.

"Hn," muttered Hiei, mentally confused; half of him agreed, half of him was tolerant and half of him had the typical 'What a baka ferry onna' response he normally had. He wondered where he had gotten this many halfs in the first place...

"I forgot my clothes and camping supplies," stated the girl, not noticing the slight confusion on Hiei's face. His return to his normal cold, uncaring self was making her feel a lot of doubt; _was_ it just his instinct? What would happen when this was all over?

Hopping back onto her oar, opening a portal and coming out outside a blue door in Reikai, Botan opened it, quickly flinging some clothes into a bag, grabbing a tent and sleeping bag and stuffing some toiletries into a bag. Slowing down suddenly, she glanced at a plain drawer on the small desk her room was furnished with, along with a simple bed, another door leading to a bathroom and a dresser. Opening the door she reached in and pulled out a small chest, maybe a foot and a half long and a foot tall. On the front of it was written 'Memories.' She stuck it in the bag she had her clothes in and hopped back onto her oar.

_"Common behaviors shown during the mating season include: feeding behaviors, aggressiveness, possessiveness, strong sexual urges, a deeply rooted jealousy and paranoia and, of course, the marking instinct, making the neck the most captivating and attractive part of the prospective mate. If the prospective couple are in a 'courtship' period, behaviors include: the increased aggressiveness, though only towards others, very mild possessiveness, a slightly milder marking instinct, a need to protect the potential mate and an almost negligible increase in kindness. At the end of the courtship period, if mating hasn't occurred, the instincts of the general mating period will return, only much stronger; there are no documented cases of any demon resisting the instincts in a case like that._

_"Interestingly enough, during the courtship period especially, but also the general mating process, the demon may have other 'instincts': an increase in kindness towards the other, an urge to just spend time _watching_ the potential mate, feelings of sorrow if advances are accepted favorably and a general deep-felt love. These 'instincts' have proven to be actual feelings of love that have been pulled to the surface by the mating season, even if they aren't recognized as such..."_

_--Demonic Sociology by Theodore Levens and Louisa Terents_

She popped back out into Ningenkai, and the campsite, just as Kurama walked into it up a small path. "Hello Kurama!" she called out, noticing that Hiei had disappeared, probably to check out the campsite or find a tree to claim as his.

Ambling around looking for a flat and fairly dry piece of ground, Botan eventually found one and placed her stuff down on it, before turning to look around the clearing. "I wonder where Yusuke and Kuwabara are," she mused, mostly to herself. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised they're late..."

"They're wandering around out there trying to find the right campsite," said a voice slightly behind her and to her right.

"Oh!" exclaimed Botan. "Hiei! You... really surprised me."

"Hn."

"I should probably go look for Yusuke and Kuwabara. Otherwise they'll probably end up in some poor stranger's camp," said Botan, turning to leave.

Hiei tried to convince himself it was instinct, he didn't _really_ want to follow the onna, it was just mating urges...

It wasn't working. He turned as well and flitted after her, fast enough that you'd have to know what you were doing to see him. Keeping behind trees and bushes he shadowed her.

"Hey, Yusuke! Kuwabara!" called out Botan. "We're over here!"

"Hi Botan!" said Kuwabara, walking over. "What's the new mission?" He looked over at Yusuke, who was staring at Botan as if she had grown fangs, probably poison ones, and turned bright purple. "What's with Urameshi there?"

"Ummm..." said Botan, blushing."That's a long story. Long long long _long_ story. Why don't we... all-go-back-to-camp-and-I-can-tell-you-about-the-mission-yeah-that's-a-great-idea." Her last sentence was spoken at a near-inhuman speed, accompanied by heavy blushing and made no pretense to even be pretending to be asking for actual feedback. Kuwabara really didn't seem to notice anything.

"Okay then..." he said, walking off with Botan. Yusuke followed a ways behind them, twitching slightly and muttering about Hiei and Botan. Occasionally he would glance at Botan in disbelief.

Hiei watched Botan blush bright red as the idiot asked why Yusuke was giving Botan weird looks. What was happening with the detective **now**? It seemed to have something to do with Botan...

He followed the group up ahead, slightly curious. Why **was** Yusuke so shy and embarrassed around Botan? When he caught him mumble something about "Botan," "Hiei," and "courtship mating marking creepiness," he tied it all together. Yusuke had found out about his and Botan's courtship, though probably not all of it, and was just as repulsed at the idea as Hiei was. Wasn't he...?

He told himself that _of course_ he wasn't thinking of marking the onna and that _of course_ it was just the mating instinct talking and that _of course_ he was only following Botan around because of that instinct and the demon around here who had been killing people...

Hiei never had been a good liar.

_"Raindrops like teardrops,_

_For eyes are open windows_

_Shedding light on the soul..._

_I see your truth,_

_But only when it's raining."_

_--A Sorrow Song by Anonymous (poem)_

Botan wondered where Hiei was. She wondered, vaguely, why all-of-a-sudden she would wonder about him at all. Was she actually growing _attached_ to him? She really shouldn't. Hiei was only interested in her because of his mating instinct. She was still nearly human, the spirit of one, certainly. Hiei a) would never fall in love with someone and b) especially not a ningen. Everything would go back to normal once the mating season finished. It just reinforced the idea that nobody would love somebody caught between all the boundaries of race and level of aliveness like that.

She started putting up her tent, a fairly simple one, fortunately. She finished quickly, just getting the rain fly up before the first drops of rain began falling, softly. Lifting her face upwards she let them fall onto her face, trickling softly downwards. A small peaceful smile graced her lips.

"It's been a rainy year," said Kurama softly, coming up behind the girl.

"It has, hasn't it?" said Botan with a sigh, lowering her head. "I have to confess, I've always liked the rain, though."

"It's been good for my garden," said Kurama non-commitedly.

_"Find sorrow in raindrops,_

_And love in the rain"_

_--A Sorrow Song by Anonymous (poem)_

The falling rain had once again altered Botan's mood. The doubt that had settled earlier had changed to peace and sorrow, a strongly felt combination.

Everyone was clustered together under a quickly rigged tarp shelter, held up between a few trees, except for Hiei, who was ignoring the rain, half-under the shelter.

"Okay," began Botan. "There's been a murder here recently. The victim was female and killed around 3 to 4 in the morning. The victim was found with her internal organs replaced with a clear viscous liquid."

"Viscous?" asked Yusuke and Kuwabara simultaneously.

"Thick," clarified Kurama.

"Anyways," said Botan, "there are no known demons that would cause something like this; that's all we know."

"So we're going in blind?" asked Kurama.

"Yep," said Botan with a sigh.

"Just great," sighed Yusuke.

"See, they're just a bunch of kids," said a female voice behind them. Everyone snapped around, instinctively readying for a fight. They found themselves facing a teenaged girl with blue-gray eyes, a bow and quiver of arrows and long black hair and a boy with equally long silver hair, amber-golden eyes and a baseball cap.

"Hanyou," growled Hiei, glaring dangerously at the male.

"Told you they were demons," said silver-hair, putting his hand on his sword hilt.

"Don't, Inu-yasha!" said the girl. "I'm not sensing any shards; they're not the right ones."

"Shards?" muttered Yusuke. "What the...?"

"I don't care," muttered Inuyasha, readying himself for attack.

"I said _no_! Inu-yasha, _sit!_"

The hanyou, apparently called Inu-yasha, was pulled into the ground by a necklace around his neck. Face-first into the ground, to be exact. Everyone stared at the girl.

"Oh dear," she sighed. "I guess I'd better explain... and by the way, I'm Kagome Higurashi."

"Higurashi? Oh, I've heard of you! Koenma's been meaning to get a hold of you, but you're gone so much..."

"Koenma?" questioned the girl, Kagome.

"We've got explaining to do, too," explained Botan.

"Feh," muttered Inu-yasha.

"To shorten my story, I'm the reincarnation of a miko, Kikyo, who lived 500 years ago in the Feudal Era. I was dragged into the well behind my family's shrine by a centipede demon, where I accidentally produced the Shikon Jewel from my body, released Inu-yasha from an imprisonment cast by Kikyo, shattered the Shikon Jewel and was attacked by the demon who caused Kikyo to pin Inu-yasha to a tree, Naraku. Now I, Inu-yasha and a few other people are trying to gather all the shards of the Shikon Jewel before Naraku."

"That's the short version?" asked Yusuke in disbelief.

"Pretty much, yeah," said the girl.

"So why are you in the present?" asked Kurama.

"I keep the shards, and yesterday I was camping here when I was jumped by a small demon who stole one of my shards before I fought him off."

"How?" asked Kuwabara.

"I inherited some of Kikyo's powers," said Kagome, her face darkening slightly. "Anyways, I got Inu-yasha from the past and now we're searching for the demon."

"Just what's so important about these shards and that jewel thingy anyways?" asked Yusuke.

"Each shard will magnify a demon's power," said Kagome. "The whole jewel...Well, let's not think about that."

"I guess that makes sense," said Botan, thinking deeply. "I suppose a very minor demon might have been missed when all the other demons were sent to Makai, and then when it got the shard it gained a lot of power..."

"You were just _carrying_ around shards of the Shikon Jewel without any protection?" asked Kurama with abject horror.

"Typical baka ningen," muttered Hiei, walking away.

"Ignore him," said Botan. "He's...just like that."

"What's your name, anyway?" asked Kagome.

"Oh! Right! Forgot introductions; forgive me. I'm Botan; that's Kurama, Kuwabara, Kurama and Hiei. We're all working for the ruler of the Spirit World, Koenma. Speaking of Koenma, he's been meaning to get a hold of you. About your time traveling... He just wanted you to be aware of him. While technically meddling in the past is illegal, he's fine with it as long as you keep it somewhat under control. What you're doing now is fine, though."

"Okay! Wow, so there's this guy who knows all about what I do in the past? Kinda weird."

"I don't know... You get used to it after a while. What's the past like? How about the people you work with?"

"Well, there's Shippo, Sango, Miroku and Inu-yasha..." began Kagome.

"Girly talk..." muttered Yusuke, walking off. Kuwabara followed suit. Kurama waited a little while longer, making sure everything was fine, before making a more dignified exit towards the perimeters of the campsite. Inu-yasha found a suitable tree and perched himself in it, ignoring everyone else. Hiei had already disappeared off somewhere else.

"Do you want to go for a walk?" asked Botan. "I've always liked walking and talking, especially in the rain."

"Okay!" said Kagome. "Inu-yasha, I'm going for a walk! We'll stay near by."

"Whatever..." muttered the hanyou.

The two girls walked off, talking animatedly about this and that and everything in between.

"So what's it like traveling with the hanyou your preincarnation (1) stuck to a tree for fifty years?" asked Botan.

"Umph," sighed Kagome, letting out a rush of air. "Well, it's... complicated. What about my life isn't? I love him, and I think he might love me, but... but... Kikyo was brought somewhat back to life, and I keep on finding them together... I don't know, Botan. I really don't know..."

"Oh, it's okay," said the ferry girl comfortingly, wrapping her in a supportive hug.

"I can't believe I'm telling you all this," sniffled Kagome through her tears. "I mean, we've just met..."

"It's fine," soothed Botan. "It's probably relief at meeting another girl in less-than-ordinary situations... and it **is** confusing, isn't it? I mean... I understand some of what you're going through. Hiei's mating instinct--you know how that works, right?--picked me, and we've agreed to a courtship period so his emotions don't go out of control to the point where he rapes me. At least that's the obvious reason... But I think I fell in love with him, at some point. And I've been so _lonely_..." At this point Botan was watery-eyed herself. "Hiei hates humans more than anything else, and I know he'll never love me... but I just can't help it."

Kagome hugged Botan back. "I guess we've both got the most messed-up love lives imaginable," she offered with a watery grin.

"Yeah," smiled back Botan. "On a happier note, how did you do that 'sit' thing earlier...?"

_The extent to which the mating season affects a demon's awareness of its feelings is debated. However, it is suspected that it has a fairly weighty effect..._

_--Demonic Sociology by Theodore Levens and Louisa Terents_

Hiei followed after them as well. They might need protection, what with that demon in the area and everything. Right? **That's** why he was following them.

Hiei stopped, sighing out loud. This much just too much denial. He had to face facts.

What did he think of the onna? She was... sad. What made him think that? He had seen her in the rain, and then when she had talked to him. Yes, she was sad. Annoying. But also faithful to her friends, loving, kind, beautiful. Weak... she was weak. That's why she needed him to protect her.

Why shouldn't he love her? She was human. That was the obvious reason. Why else? After all, she needed to be loved; a person that loving needs love in return. That was why she was so sorrowful in the first place... There really wasn't a reason why he hated her.

Did he really hate her anymore? Hiei knew he didn't. He was sad when she was, guilty when he hurt her, he felt warmer when she smiled, when he helped her. There was more than instinct there. It wouldn't affect him this much otherwise. He loved her... and he wasn't horrified at that thought. She was a better person than any demon he had met. There were certainly worse people...

Did she love him? Before the mating season she had been scared of him, certainly not in love. Did she still fear him? He hoped not. He really hoped not...

Screams interrupted him. Screaming... Botan! She was alone in the forest, with only that new girl!

Hiei ran off in the direction of the screams, fast enough to be invisible to human eyes. **Kurama!** he called out, using his Jagan.

**Coming,** he responded.

Seconds later he ran into a small clearing. Botan, Kagome and a thick worm maybe five and a half long, wrapped around a tree and made of a mostly clear liquid with a nasty look to it, were locked into a momentary stalemate; Kagome was surrounded by a shimmering shield made out of pink light, though it looked like the strain was getting to her, while Botan hovered high overhead.

Hiei quickly assessed the situation. It looked like the demon wasn't aware of him yet. Shouting got no reaction; an experimental movement did.

The worm stuck out another branch of itself to face the fire demon. The third end seemed nervous of him, though, darting around worriedly. Good.

"Hiei!" yelled Botan. "Don't touch it! Look at the squirrel!"

_Squirrel?_ thought Hiei. _What?_

Another glance around did, indeed, show a squirrel, nothing more than a bag of skin oozing a clear liquid disturbingly similar to what the demon was made of from its nose, mouth, eyes and ears. Damn. This meant he couldn't touch the thing, and probably any of its pieces. And, yes, the blob of jelly that used to be a squirrel was starting to move; eventually it shivered out of the squirrel skin, inch-worming over to its parent. This was just a **wonderful** situation, wasn't it?

Kurama, Kuwabara, Yusuke and Inu-yasha burst into the clearing. Mentally Hiei told them the basic facts. **It reproduces by splitting itself and we can't touch it.**

"That's no problem!" exclaimed Yusuke. "I'll just spirit gun it..."

"NO!" yelled Hiei and Kurama simultaneously.

"If you shoot it it'll spatter," explained Kurama. "Each bit will essentially be a functioning adult one."

"Really?" said Yusuke. "That won't work, then. How **do** we do it, then?"

"Kagome!" yelled Inu-yasha, tossing her the bow she had dropped earlier.

"Thanks!" she yelled back, pulling out an arrow. She drew back then released, sending the arrow, outlined in pink energy, into the left side of the creature as it moved, deceptively fast, to avoid it. Where the arrow hit the stuff the creature was made of it started to boil off in great clouds of smudgy clear gray steam, smoky and harsh. After a surprisingly short period filled only with the awful hissing scream of the demon it cleared, revealing the worm, essentially unharmed. It was noticeably thinner and maybe half a foot shorter, but there was no other change.

Kagome strung and shot another arrow; it stood out brightly against the gray sky. It was headed straight for the demon, steady, steady, perfect... The demon split itself into two, an elongated donut shape; the arrow plunged through the hole and into the tree. A hissing laugh echoed almost silently through the clearing.

"Oh damn..." muttered Yusuke."What the hell do we do now?"

"The shard's circulating through its body!" yelled Kagome. "It's not staying still!"

"I thought this was a lower-class demon!" yelled Kuwabara.

"It was! Now we just have no way of fighting it! How do you fight something without touching it?" answered Botan.

In response, Hiei ripped off the bandanna covering his Jagan, mentally praying that this would work.

He began a mental assault on the demon, non-physically beating at its natural mental boundaries. Slowly, slowly, he fought to force his control onto the creature; if he could hold it still enough the girl could shoot it.

"What's he doing?" yelled Kagome.

"Fighting it mentally! Get ready too shoot--once he's holding it still enough you can shoot it!" yelled back Kurama. A tense silence fell for a few minutes as the mental battle raged on.

Hiei's mind was burning. The strain required was physically painful, like a great burning weight pressing heavily down on him, heavier and heavier. His breath began coming out ragged; every muscle in his body was tensed.

Botan screamed suddenly, dodging quickly on her oar. The little worm, the one that had been a squirrel, had silently climbed up a tree and jumped at her, attempting to touch her. Instead, it fell harmlessly to earth. The damage had been done, though; Hiei had seen the danger. Already tense nerves added up with a protective streak a mile wide, only increased by mating instinct, to override any sense of reason. He rapidly started turning a deep green, replicas of his Jagan opening up all over his body. Abruptly the motion of the demon slowed, then stopped, held motionless. Kagome, startled by Hiei's rapid change, recovered quickly and shot an arrow, then another; once more the sickly steam poured out of the creature. Eventually it faded, leaving behind a single shard of the Shikon jewel; Kagome walked over, picked it up.

Botan landed, slightly shaky in the knees; she hadn't realized quite how much the shock of that... _thing_ jumping at her had startled her. Suddenly, between blink and blink, Hiei was at her side, still in his less-human form, though it was slowly fading. She flinched slightly, surprised by his sudden movement and his equally sudden altered appearance, then stilled herself.

Hiei felt Botan flinch away from him, and it felt like his heart was breaking. She **was** still frightened by him; why shouldn't she be? he thought, bitter. He was exactly what Koenma had summarized: a convicted criminal, known killer, only working with her to keep out of Reikai prison.

Botan saw the sudden rush of sadness in Hiei, and felt an inexplicable surge of guilt. _Where did that come from?_ she wondered. Softly, almost whispering, she asked "Hiei, could you help me stand? I don't think I'm going to be able to on my own..."

Hiei looked up at the girl beside him, her face white with shock. He eased an arm around her, leaning her onto his shoulder, supporting her. He refused to let himself think that she might love him back; she had already proven that she didn't.

Botan leaned onto the person beside her, supporting her. She felt safer. Protected. Loved... She told herself that it was just the mating instinct. Nobody, especially Hiei, loved her. Nonetheless, she savored having his arms around her, holding her up. She felt him, warmer than was human, by her side, and felt guilty for the sorrow she had seen in him; had that been because of her, and her moment of fright?

The two slowly walked over to the main group, followed by stares from Yusuke and Kuwabara; Kagome and Inu-yasha didn't know the two well enough to know how unlikely the scene before them was. Kurama was being enigmatic.

Reaching the group a silence fell. An awkward one. "I can stand by myself, now," said Botan. She made no extricate herself; neither did Hiei.

"You... Hiei... Botan... What the hell?" managed Kuwabara. Yusuke was still in shock.

"I'll explain later," said Kurama smoothly. "Hiei, why don't you let go of Botan? I want to make sure she's okay." Hiei carefully, reluctantly, pulled himself away, moving closer to the nearest edge of the clearing before stopping.

"Botan, are you dizzy? Can stand fine? Clear vision? No nausea? Good. You're fine... it was probably just a bit of shock at walking too close to that demon and then being jumped at like that."

"I... I think I'll go for a bit of a walk," said Botan. "I have a lot to think about."

"That sounds like a good idea," said Kurama kindly.

"But..." began Yusuke. Kurama shot him a glare. "Never mind."

"What's going on?" wondered Kuwabara hopelessly, completely lost.

"I need to start getting home," said Kagome. "Botan, this is my home address; you can get a hold of me there. It would be fun to talk again!"

"Okay... Bye."

"Good bye, everyone. C'mon, Inu-yasha!"

As the two new-comers left Kurama spoke again. "Okay, Kuwabara, I'll explain what's happening. Yusuke, why don't you try finishing putting up your tent? It might be a bit damp at this point, though... Botan, you go take that walk."

As Botan left she noticed the light rain that was still falling, softly, nearly silent.

_Sorrow whispers of a quiet_

_That falls with rain._

_--A Sorrow Song by Anonymous (poem)_

Botan left quickly, walking into deeper forest where a deep silence lay heavy. Sitting down she leaned against an ancient tree, old and gnarled; rain fell all around it but its tangled mass of branches kept all rain but a few heavy drops from reaching the ground. She stared at the hushed world and, slowly, almost imperceptibly, a tear fell, tracing a glistening trail down her cheek like the glow of the moon's path on ocean.

Once more Hiei had followed Botan, unable to say anything to her. He hadn't expected her to start crying... Why was she so sorrowful? He wanted to ask her, to find out what it was, to do anything to ease her sorrow, but stopped himself.

_Why did I have to fall in love with him? He thinks it's terrible enough that his instinct's chosen me. How do you think he'd respond to finding out that I've fallen in love with him? He thinks I'm less than worthless as it is..._

"Why'd I have to fall in love?" whispered Botan, barely loud enough to be heard, even right next to each other. Hiei would have missed it completely...except for demon-strong hearing.

_She's in love? Who with?_ he thought. _I know it's not me..._

"He'll never love me back..."

_Why does always think nobody will love her? She's so wonderful... How could anyone not?_

"It's just his mating instinct... Nothing more. I can't believe that he might actually love me back..."

Hiei's mind went blank. _But that means me..._

"Why would he love me?"

_Why would she love me? I thought she was frightened by me..._

"Everything will just go back to normal after this is done. Everything will be... the same. The way it was before..."

_She loved him._ The thought echoed in his mind. _Why?_

Botan turned to leave; she was starting to feel cold, and it's easier to stay comfortable than warm yourself back up, especially when you're camping. She turned and headed back up the trail she had walked down. The rain overhead started to slack off, slowing to a few sporadic droplets. She sighed heavily; this was shaping up to be the worst (and longest) day in existence.

"Onna," said a voice behind her. Only one person called her that; she turned.

"Hiei..." there was a tremulous nervous sorrowful pain in her voice; it dug sharply into him.

"I... Really listen to me. Don't... just don't think this is instinct talking; it only goes so far. I've...I've realized that I love you."

Hiei looked away, not bearing to see her response.

A choked sob made him look back. Botan was weeping half-silently into her hands, shoulders shaking with pent-up emotion. Looking up, tears falling down her cheeks she gave an unbelieving, painfully hopeful half-smile. "Re-" her voice cracked. "Really?"

"Yes," said Hiei, stepping forward hesitantly. Botan smiled, slow and deep, sorrow still lurking in her face.

"I think I love you too."

(1) Preincarnation: A previous incarnation; reincarnation implies following someone, which doesn't fit the situation. Yes, this is a made up word...

* * *

Ending A/N: ...And we have a break-through! Go Hiei! Go Botan! I figured that, while Hiei's scared stiff by his emotions, he's also a) bad at lying to himself, b) pretty no-nonsense and c) more open to emotions via mating season. Yes, those are my excuses for OOCness. He's tricky to write in these situations... At what point am I leaving character development and wandering into just plain bad characterization? Probably five miles back. Botan... well, she has no problems with love. Except when she realizes that the person she's in love with is Hiei, who (in her eyes; not mine, though! At least, not in this fic...) is never going to love her back...

This fic isn't finished; we still have a **lot** of material to go through. The two of them realizing they're in love is a major achievement, yes, but not everything. Hiei still has issues, Botan still has insecurities and different issues, both of them need to get used to the other, there's still the whole mating season (which has been **temporarily** fought off) and marking issue... Yup, this isn't over.

Whoo, Inu-yasha's really out of character; normally he's not that quiet. Or sulky. Maybe it's the new situation? That's the way the little Inu-yasha in my head would react... And wow, that sounded **weird. **Oh well... I write fanfiction. I can't be normal, by definition.

So ends the Endless Chapter: 18 pages in Word, including author's notes and shout-outs. As always, read and review! Or, as mentioned before, yell really loudly. You never know, it might work…


	3. Chapter Three

**It's Raining  
Chapter Three**

**A/N**: And now, a chapter of virtually no plot advancement but lots of fluff! It's just what I needed. Remember, all quoted books are entirely fictional. I made them up for the purpose of this fic.

**Quote of the update**: Isn't everyone's 'cause of death' life?

**Disclaimer**: The plot and the books Demonology, Demon, On the Habits of Demons, Demonic Sociology, The Demon Debates, Utterly Lovely, Entirely in Love: A Romance Novel, Demon Mating Habits: A Scientific Study, L O V E: The Demon Edition, Everyday Miracles and Demon Subspecies are all mine, together with the poems "Moonlight" and "A Sorrow Song." I disclaim all else. Sad, huh?

Botan, wet and cold, took down her tent (the issue they had all been looking into had been resolved, so she no longer had to camp with them,) leaving Kurama, Yusuke and Kuwabara, and headed off for her apartment. She took a long hot bath, dressed in her most comfortable pajamas (a pair of loose pants and a too-big T-shirt) and took a book to bed, where she sat and pretended to read, deep in thought, finally giving up and going to bed early.

The Fourth Day:

_One of the most incredible things about love is how it makes idiots of us all, but a) we all fall in love anyway and b) we find whoever's in love with us attractive, despite the idiocy._

_--Utterly Lovely, Entirely in Love: A Romance Novel by Psued O'Nym_

Botan woke up tired around seven in the morning. She had slept restlessly at best all night, plagued by strange dreams and nightmares she only half-remembered. Some of her dreams had been... horrific. Botan had a reputation for being silly and inconsequential, but she had seen a lot of deaths as a ferry girl. You saw a lot, taking dead souls to the afterlife, and you lost your illusions quickly. Botan had been lucky; she hadn't lost her innocence.

And sometimes the worst things she had seen came back to her, late at night, and she thought of the souls who had been horrified, traumatized, by what had happened to them... It was hardest to deal with these dreams when she was still asleep, and they faded once she was awake, so she only woke sweaty, rumpled and exhausted, the end tails of nightmares disappearing into her eyes.

She sighed, stretched, then got up, picking out a new change of clothes and fumbling a towel out of her closet. She walked into her bathroom, running a hot shower. Stripping out of her pajamas she stepped into the warm water, letting it rush around her. As water fell all around her she could feel the memories of the night before slipping away, washed away with her tension.

A while later she emerged, calmer. She dried off, then slipped into her clean clothes, wrestling a comb through hair as she left her bathroom. Walking into her small kitchen she rummaged through her cupboards before finding a box of cereal. She looked at it for a few minutes before putting it back, getting a slice of the apple pie on the counter instead.

"Oh well," she muttered to herself. "We all need to be indulgent now and then... And there's worse things to do than eat pie for breakfast."

As she ate her breakfast she thought back to what had happened the day before. It was still so... surprising. Shocking. World-shaking... She had realized she was in love with Hiei. More to the point, Hiei had said **he** was in love with **her.** Of all people...

She wondered how much of it was just instinct. How well it would last once the mating season was over...

She wondered why **she** was the one he had fallen in love with.

_...No demon knows whether instinct sensing subconscious preferences or instinct alone picks the subject of the mating season..._

_--Demonology, author unknown_

Kurama paced around his room, the steady movement aiding his thoughts. He idly played with a vine as he went, wrapping it around his fingers in loose knots. It was maybe seven in the morning, and he was slightly confused. He had guessed that there might be more to what Hiei had been feeling than pure instinct; it was even debated whether instinct was even completely responsible for picking the potential mate. Botan had told him herself that she was lonely and thought that no one would love her.

But then Botan had started to fall in love with Hiei, who had said to her that he loved her, in so many words. That was so completely opposite from their general personalities that he had no idea what to think.

Botan was generally bubbly, cheery, optimistic; recently she had been quieter, more reserved. That was explained by what she had told him, about how she wanted someone to love her, as more than a friend... It did make sense.

But Hiei... Nothing much had changed for him. He had been alive for a good long while; what had made him suddenly fall in love? And he had confessed it... That was the oddest part of it. He had confessed to it...

Maybe the instinct, thought Kurama. It made demons more open to their own emotions. It was so much more **subtle**, though. What would make the fire demon, icier than a glacier and twice as cold, simply say that he loved her?

"Fox," greeted a voice from his windowsill, interrupting his train of thoughts..

"Hiei," responded the kitsune, turning to the window. "I have a few... questions for you."

"Hn."

If it had been almost anyone else, Kurama would have been insulted. Hiei, though... It was just who he was. Who he **wasn't** was the sort of person who told **Botan** that he loved her.

"Why did you tell Botan you loved her?" Maybe bluntness would work where subtlety would be purposely ignored.

Hiei, turned, startled, to face his friend. Kurama watched, mildly surprised, as he gave it actual thought. "I'm... not sure." That agreed with his instinct theory. "I... I think it was because she was so sad, so... lonely. She was refusing to let herself hope that I loved her... And she was so lost, I just couldn't let her keep on thinking that... I could see her breaking." His voice was almost a whisper.

Kurama was stunned. Hiei had just as good as told him that he was in love with Botan. He could understand that; Botan was a great person, with a lot of good qualities. But (he kept on coming back to this same question) why Hiei? Why Botan? They were nearly opposites... Botan was human if she was anything, and humans were what Hiei hated more than anything. Or at least they had been... All of the time with Yusuke and Kuwabara, and around other humans, had no doubt changed him; for that matter, his time with Kurama, seeing his strange devotion to his mother, had probably affected him as well. That wasn't really an issue for him anymore...

True, their personalities were polar opposites. She was everything he wasn't. But there was a sadder side to Botan that nobody had seen, and a softer side to Hiei that he kept carefully buried... It might be good for them to let that part of them out for a while. It certainly couldn't be healthy for the ferry girl to keep all of that pressure locked inside...

There wasn't any real reason for them **not** to be in love. There was a big difference between that and it actually happening, though...

What **had** happened to cause this?

They had fallen in love. Instinct had been the catalyst, but it had grown out of that. And now Hiei had confessed something he might not have even realized himself, because he couldn't bear seeing Botan hurt.

Love.

It really did cause miracles.

_There is no miracle greater,_

_No embrace warmer,_

_No memory sweeter_

_Than the perfect love..._

_--"Miracles of Love" (poem) by Elizadore Therane_

_All love is perfection,_

_By definition..._

_--"Miracles of Love" (poem) by Elizadore Therane_

_Love is seeing perfection in the imperfect. This is what makes love so wonderful..._

_--Utterly Lovely, Entirely in Love: A Romance Novel by Psued O'Nym_

"You're quiet tonight," said Hiei, slightly self-conscious.

"I've just got a lot on my mind."

"Hn."

"You should get going--I think Botan'll be awake by now."

Hiei inclined his head slightly, blurred, and was gone. In his wake, Kurama smiled slightly. Maybe this would work out for the best...

Hiei arrived just as Botan was leaving, closing the door behind herself.

"Oh! Hiei!" said the girl, her hair now dry and pulled up in her typical pony-tail, as she was caught off-guard by his sudden appearance. Genuine warmth flooded into her face as she smiled at him, some inner worry she hadn't recognized being exposed as false. Hiei looked blankly at her, surprised by her greeting.

"I was just leaving--"

"I know, onna. It's obvious." The hurt look on her face was sudden, and obvious as well. Hiei could have slapped himself. He hadn't meant to say that... He hadn't meant to hurt her...

"I... I was going to the pet shelter, I always volunteer there on Saturdays. If you want, you could come with me?" The last part was rushed, Botan's face turned away from him, expecting him to refuse.

Hiei almost didn't accept, almost said 'Why would I take care of ningen animals?', but ignored his reflex. "I'll go," he said, simply, voice monotone, emotionless; he didn't trust himself to allow any into his words, afraid the painful regret he was feeling for his harshness would leak into them.

She smiled at him again; again, Hiei felt almost grateful for that smile, just for him. "It's just down the street, so I was going to walk," she said.

Hiei nodded once, showing his understanding, and followed after Botan as she went down the stairs. They walked side by side, carefully not touching the other, the silence maybe slightly awkward, for maybe a block before Botan turned into a large, institutional-looking cement-block building with the words "Animal Shelter" on the side in big blue letters. Walking on Botan was greeted by a smile from the secretary, an elderly lady wearing a suit in a rather unfortunate shade of orange, who had 'adopted' her, in a way.

"Botan! You're here to volunteer again? Someday you're really going to need to get yourself a pet! I have no idea why you don't have one now," said the lady, chattering away happily. _I've finally met someone who talks more than the onna,_ thought Hiei, both amused and horrified, as she continued on her non-stop commentary, not pausing to allow Botan to answer any questions she asked.

"Oh, and this is Hiei. He won't be actually volunteering, just keeping me company as I work," interrrupted Botan, hoping she wouldn't ask any more questions. "Well, then, have to go!" Botan beat a hasty retreat, trying to keep from being asked any difficult questions like, 'Are you two dating?' or 'Who's your nice young man?'

"My job is to make sure all the animals are fed," explained Botan as they came out into the animal shelter proper. "Feel free to just look around..."

Hiei really felt like spending more time with Botan, just talking, but he didn't say anything. She had work to do, and he didn't have anything to really say. He walked slowly away, glancing disinterestedly into the cages surrounding him. The smell of animals, mostly dogs and cats, was heavy in the air, though there _was_ slightly something off coming from one of the cages... Where _was_ it coming from?

Glancing down the rows of cages he suddenly pulled up short. Botan walked up behind him, curious. "What's captured your atten... Oh. Oh my."

Inside the cage, which was just like any other one of the many iron cages of the room, was a creature (there really was no other word for it) flickering into and out of the image of a typical cat, a slightly heavy-set moonlight tabby. The rest of the time, when it wasn't a cat, it was slightly amphibious looking, with bright leaf-green fur, big pupilless yellow eyes, small defensive spikes down either side and two tentacles, a slightly duller green color, on each shoulder. Incongruously, the rest of the thing looked fairly cat-like: ears, tail, paws, build, mouth.

"Do you know what it is?" asked Botan, fascinated.

"No... Just a second. I'll ask Kurama." He loosened his bandanna, concentrating. **Fox!**

**What is it, Hiei? **said the kitsune, sounding forgivingly patient.

**Any idea what this thing is?** The words were accompanied by a mental picture of the creature.

**Low-level makai animal. Minor shape-shifting powers--it can only disguise its outer layer differently, and each one only has one other form. Why?** He responded promptly.

**There's one here in the animal shelter, and I want to know why.**

Kurama wisely decided not to comment on where Hiei was. Instead he said, **If its other form was something that looks normal in Ningenkai, it might have escaped the round-up back into Makai. They're harmless, a lot like cats, and wouldn't attract attention.**

**Right.** sent Hiei finally, before cutting the link.

"Kurama said it's a shape-shifting Makai animal."

"I wonder what's making her lose control of her shifted shape," wondered Botan. "She hasn't been given any medicines or tranquilizers that would affect that."

"It could just be defective," said Hiei. "It's lucky no one's found it before."

He turned away, silently dismissing both of them, and wandered over to the other side of the room. Botan, feeling slightly hurt but ignoring her feelings, opened the door, pulling the cat (1) into her arms.

"Hey, sweetie," she whispered. "How're you? Is there something wrong? A cute kitty... shape-shifting demon... animal like you should have a home. You're just too adorable for words!"

The creature looked up at her with those big liquid eyes it had, one of its tentacles going up to pat softly at her face. Botan giggled at it, scratching under its ears, eliciting a loud purr. The spines along its sides proved themselves retractable, disappearing.

Botan sighed regretfully, gently putting the kitty back into her cage. "I've got other animals to feed, okay? I'll hold you afterwards, though. You look like you need holding."

A while later, all the other animals fed and watered, she was back. "Okay, cutie, I've decided to adopt you. If your illusion isn't working right, you'll need a place to stay. It's about time I adopted a pet, anyway."

"Hiei," she called softly to the fire demon, who was brooding, pretending to ignore her, over in the corner. He walked over to her.

"Yes, Onna?"

"I'm just going to go get the registration papers for her. I need a pet, and it's only a matter of time before somebody sees her true form, and that'll cause all kinds of trouble. At least at my home she won't be in danger of somebody finding out too much about things they shouldn't. Would you just wait here?"

"Yes." was the only answer she got.

"Okay," sighed the girl, leaving the room. Hiei looked at the creature. It looked back.

Not sure why, Hiei lowered his hands to the wire door of the cage, letting the cat sniff him. It scrambled away from his hand, hiding in the back.

"Don't like me, animal? You shouldn't. I'm not a nice person, like Botan or Yukina. I'd just end up hurting you."

The cat drew closer to his hand and the bars of the cage, eyes wider than they were normally. His voice seemed to be comforting to it. Gradually she drew close enough to sniff at his hand, then lick it slightly. Hiei looked at the creature in surprise.

"Maybe you're not as smart as you look, cat. I know you can smell what I am."

Regardless of his words, he opened the latch door of the cage and picked up the animal. Cradling it in his hands he just stood there, holding the thing, as it sniffed at him some more, looking at him through those unfathomable yellow eyes. Hesitantly he scratched it, and it started purring again, eyes half-lidded with pleasure. A tentacle reached out and wrapped around his hand, loosely, the very end tapping gently against him. He stopped petting it, and the tapping stopped; he started again, and the tapping re-started as well.

A sound alerted him, and he turned, as Botan walked back into the room with a cardboard carrier. She didn't comment on Hiei holding the blissfully happy fuzz ball, merely holding out the box for the animal.

"I figure we can carry her home in this, so nobody'll see her. It's a good thing I volunteer a lot, otherwise they might have made me show them her... As it is I told them she was shy and I didn't want her around a lot of people. She's already had her shots, so that's good…"

Once the cat was safely deposited in her carrier, Botan holding her, the two started home. They left with only a good-bye wave from the secretary, who was busy with another person, someone holding a little ball of fur that was presumably a dog, though it might have been a mop head.

They made it home without incidence, both as quiet on the return trip as they had been on the way there. Neither was very sure about what the other was feeling, how they felt, whether they regretted anything that had been said, how much of what had been said was true...

_Koorime are a race of ice demons. The most notable features about them is that they are all female, reproducing asexually approximately every one hundred years. Because of this, they are the only demon race that has no mating instinct. They also do not have a marking instinct, as the parent is expected to raise her child alone, potentially with the help of a mother, aunt or older sister._

_--Demon Subspecies by Sierre Vente_

Once they were back in her apartment she opened the cardboard container, tipping it on its side. "I'll just leave her in there until she wants to come out on her own accord." said Botan, sounding slightly anxious.

She bustled around, trying to look busy, obviously suffering from too much nervous energy. Hiei couldn't say he blamed her. It was so...awkward, the way things were between them...

Botan put down the bit of string she had been fiddling with, walking over to the couch and sitting down.

"I'm... I... Hiei?" she started, head lowered, blue bangs obscuring her face.

"Yes?"

"I... Never mind. It's... It's nothing."

"Tell me, Onna."

"What is it?"

Botan looked up at him, tears trembling in her eyes. She shook her head, unable to speak, a single tear breaking, then falling down her cheek.

Hiei was by her side in an instant. "Botan, what's wrong?" Inside he was worried, nearly scared. Had she made a mistake? Did she still love him? Had she loved him at all?

"It's just... It's just... I keep on wondering why you love **me** and whether it's all just a mistake and it's really your instinct after all and everything'll change once the mating period's over and... and..." Botan started sobbing, tears falling into her lap, head lowered once more, shoulders shaking with suppressed sorrow.

Cautiously, carefully, Hiei wrapped his arms around her, offering his support. Botan half-turned, leaning into him, crying into his shoulder, muffled by the layers of fabric. Slowly, shyly, just as cautious as Hiei had been, she wrapped her arms around him in turn. After a few minutes the tears receded, though she stayed where she was, gathering strength from their embrace.

"I know I shouldn't be so untrusting, but... You're the first person who's ever said they love me, and it's just so sudden, and I just can't help but feel so insecure..." said Botan into Hiei's shoulder, pressing herself against him for support. "I seem to be so _wet_ recently, crying all the time..."

"It's fine. I... understand. I don't know why you love me, why somebody so wonderful would pick me to love..."

"Really?" asked Botan, shifting so she could look into his face. Hiei nodded an affirmation.

"I guess that there's more to love than we'll ever understand, and sometimes it just won't make sense."

"Maybe."

A sudden weight on his foot made Hiei look down--it was the new cat. Botan followed his gaze. "You know, we need to name her," said the ferry girl.

"Hn."

"Rain. We'll call her rain."

"Why do you have this obsession with the rain?"

"It's always comforted me. Sometimes it makes me sad, but it always calms me down, makes me almost feel... serene. I've loved this spring; it's rained almost every day."

"I would have thought you'd have liked sun more."

"Most people do! I like sun, but I've always liked rain more."

Hiei was suddenly very aware of Botan's proximity to him. Very, very aware indeed of the way she was pressed up against him, the sudden happiness in her scent, the lingering salt smell of her tears... Every instinct he had was screaming at him to mark the neck that was presenting itself so very conveniently to him.

Botan sensed Hiei tensing. Moving away she asked, "Hiei? Is something wrong?" Tension and worry was strong in her voice.

"My... instincts are very strong right now."

"But... I thought the courting would stop those?" asked Botan, a confused and worried light in her eyes.

"They should."

"Maybe we should go talk to Kurama?"

Much as he hated going to anyone for help, Hiei had to admit that they should. Something... wasn't quite right.

_"'Life's pretty amazing, once you think about it. I mean, seeing all the ways things could go hideously wrong it's a wonder **any** of us survive, let alone relatively intact.'"_

_--Hellen, Everyday Miracles by Elizadore Therane._

Kurama frowned slightly, deep in thought.

"So... Hiei, you've been experiencing, erm, mating-and-marking instincts again? It's only been two days since you agreed to a courtship period. Have you two done anything to suggest moving out of that stage?"

Botan blushed, no, fluoresced, bright red. "What do you mean by that?" she managed to squeak out.

"No kissing? I'll assume you two haven't done anything beyond that."

"No. All we've done is hug once." said the girl, fighting to control her blushes.

"That shouldn't end the courting," pondered Kurama thoughtfully. "Hiei, you've never done this before? Had a courtship period?"

Hiei snorted.

"Yes, I guess that was a stupid question."

There was a slight silence; the three of them were in Kurama's backyard, where his mother thought he was showing them a new rose. He was, actually, but she didn't expect the part where they all talked about demon mating rituals. The kitsune was flitting around, doing a few of the multitudes of little chores that a garden has: pulling the beginnings of weeds, dead-heading, pinching back a few out-of-place marigolds, removing a diseased rose leaf here and there, checking the plants for insects and the soil for dampness. Hiei was leaning impassively against the wall of the house, and Botan was pacing nervously.

A few moments later, Kurama started speaking again. "I have a theory. Hiei, you're part koorime, and my guess is that you didn't inherit a full set of mating instincts. With most demons it's not a problem, because they all reproduce the same way and have the same instincts, but the koorime lack them. You must not have gotten an entire set, or it's different from the average one because of your koorime blood."

"Yeah..." said Botan thoughtfully. "That makes sense. It was sort of chance how his instincts turn out, so he has the, uhm, mating-and-marking instincts but the ones having to do with courtship have been changed."

Turning to Hiei, she sighed. "What do we do now?"

Hiei gave a small sigh as well. Even if he did love the onna he didn't want to lose control and mark her. It was a big—colossal—change in his life. He didn't want to do something against her will, too far caught up in his instincts to listen to her. There were any number of reasons this was a big problem.

Even more disturbing, he had felt a sudden rush of warm desire through his body as he thought about marking her. He wasn't sure it was entirely instinct, as he thought of Botan crying against him earlier, and the trust she had shown him, and the fierce love he had felt, beyond the instinct.

Even though Botan knew she loved Hiei she wasn't ready for him to mark her. She knew his instinct could still be affecting his decisions. She knew that she had only been in love with him for a few days, and that she had based that love on very little. She knew that it was probably best to see how their relationship went forward before he marked her, but something in her felt very lonely that they were considering not marking each other at all as an option, so that they needed to wait. Something in her thought, _I love him. He loves me. We are not people who find that lightly._

"So... We just hope that Hiei will be able to hold out against his instincts?" asked Botan.

"I guess so," sighed Kurama. "There's not a lot else we can do."

"Yeah," sighed Botan. "I guess it is."

(1) For ease's sake, I'm going to call her (Rain) a kitty. It just helps, okay?

A/N: Gotta love genetics! Now that that's said, I'd just like to say a big THANK YOU! to everyone who bothers to read these author's notes. I mean, they're pretty much me just rambling, though **sometimes** they actually have something to do with the story. I always feel appreciated when somebody cares enough to not only read my story but read my useless non-story ramblings as well! Also, next time I may have the complete Sorrow Song, if anyone's interested.

**Shout-outs! **(You didn't think I'd forget these, did you?)

Emma: Well, it's the next chapter; hello! Nice to see you again! Though, are you purple-eyednekoyoukai now? I hope I'll get to read something you've written soon!

Anichan: Thank you for the review! It was very nice indeed. I hope you continue to enjoy my story! And see how quickly I updated?

MystiKoorime: Thank you very much for fav-authoring me! I'm glad you like this story. And see how good I was about not making you wait a long time? It's been what, a week?

Animoon: Yes, I did write the sorrow song! I'm glad you like it! I write a lot of poetry, actually. I might post the full poem next chapter, now that it's been written in full, or at least the first stanza.

Silverchild of the winds: Isn't it? I love it! It's just so ridiculously adorable! Hiei/Botan as a pairing, I mean.

Yoru Inu: Thank you for reviewing! And thank you again for putting me on your favorite authors list! And I'm updating soon!

Heartluv: Thank you! Your review was absolutely wonderful! I hope you continue to like this story as much as you have!

Ryokotsusei: Thank you for reviewing! I enjoyed reading what you thought. I hope you like this chapter as well!

Tandiien: Thanks for the review! I emailed you, to thank you and to get back about betaing, but you never responded. Did the email come through all right? Have you just been away, or busy? I haven't offended you, have I?


	4. Chapter Four

**It's Raining: Chapter Four**

**Disclaimer:** I own Rain (the kitty) and the plot; all else is disclaimered. Heh.

**A/N**: I think you will all like this chapter very very much. At least, I hope so. I do! But then, I'm fluff-addicted, _so_...

THANK YOU SO MUCH! to all of my WONDERFUL reviewers!

Now that summer vacation's here, I've got loads more time to write! I'm thinking of starting another story. I'm afraid I'm going to have to hold out on the Harry Potter cross-over until the sixth book comes out, which is annoying me, but I'd never finish before there was the new book, and that would lead to all sorts of complications. I'm thinking of doing something over in the Inu-yasha fandom...

To make this easier, my sixth reviewer may request a fic from me! Probably a short one, but I'm shot on ideas so I'll have someone else come up with one. And then I'll write it. Unless nobody's interested.

If anyone ever feels like chatting or anything, send me an email! I'd love to hear from you! Really! Please do!

**Quote of the Update**: "There have been better attempts at marching, and they have been made by penguins." --Monstrous Regiment by Terry Pratchett.

* * *

Day Four, after noon, into Day Five: 

Botan spent the rest of her day with Kagome, Shizuru, Keiko and Yukina, the four girls enoying the chance to act at least fairly typical for teenagers their age. Admittedly, it wasn't entirely normal (how could it be?) but it was a lot closer than most of them normally got.

She had another restless night, tossing uneasily, though she slept late this morning, nearly until ten, before she was woken by an irate Koenma demanding that she come back to work because there was much too much to do and didn't she know that they were all over-worked and she truly couldn't take any more time off at all, really.

Botan arrived home later than she was used too, at maybe nine in the evening, absolutely exhausted. She was aching with fatigue, and so _tired_... She had missed lunch, and her lack of sleep was beginning to catch up with her. Combining that with her recent emotional upheaval, it was a wonder she was still upright.

She took a brief shower, the water as hot as she could stand it, before getting out and drying off, slipping into her pajamas. Yawning widely she fell into her bed, falling into a deep sleep. It was calmer than she had been the other nights, but only so because she was too tired for anything else. She still wasn't as peaceful as she might have been otherwise.

Hiei had spent the past 24 hours or so sleeping and training, trying desperately to keep his mind off of Botan and what had happened. He had done everything, anything, and it wasn't working.

He had fallen into an uneasy doze around eight in the evening, as the last of the day's sunlight was fading from the sky. He had awoken panicked, his breath harsh in his throat. He didn't remember the nightmare that had woken him up, but a deep unease settled over him nonetheless.

A few brief seconds later Hiei stood silently on Botan's porch, the plants Kurama had grown to ward the porch recognizing him as a friend and allowing him to pass into her apartment. A brief check through the space assured him that everything was exactly the way it was supposed to be.

Hiei quietly opened the door to Botan's room, slipping in and closing it behind him. He settled himself on the windowledge, where he could easily view her bed, which was to the right of his perch. He was still tired, though his come-and-go mating instinct seemed to have retreated for the time being. He lost himself in peaceful observation, content in knowing that she was safe, protected... The moment seemed to stretch on, the dark night peaceful, the outline of his shadow spread across Botan's wall, a portrait in moonlight.

He wanted to be here forever, he thought, his drifting mind running into a spark of truth. He wanted nothing more than to be there for Botan, both for physical protection and emotional. That was what love was, when happiness was in another person... Hiei was remarkably at ease with that realization. He had changed a lot over the past few years, more than he had expected. Meeting Kurama, with his devotion to the ningen woman who had raised him, inexplicable and partly unwanted, had affected him. Meeting Yukina had started to redefine him. Even working with Yusuke and, much as he hated to admit it, Kuwabara, and changed his opinions about humans, but also how much of a weakness emotions were.

It wasn't that he had suddenly decided that emotions made you stronger. It wasn't that he had even begun to come around slowly to the idea that they were great things. It was just how they opened him to the idea that maybe complete emotionless wasn't the way you absolutely had to be, and you could manage to survive the other way.

That was really all it had taken. That little tiny altered piece of his views had completely changed his life, entirely and utterly. It had been enough for his mating instinct to pick out a potential mate; it had been enough to make him confess that he'd fallen in love with Botan, both to himself and her. _And that has made all the difference..._ (1)

Botan shifted slightly, making a soft noise of complaint, her face creased in silent worry.

The slight changes in her sleep attracting his attention, the fire demon moving to her side, looking down at her. She was dreaming, her eyes flitting back and forth wildly under her eyelids, the motions frantic, panicked.

Hesitating slightly, afraid he might wake her up, Hiei reached out and touched a careful hand to hers, unsure of the _why_ behind his gesture. There was nothing he could do about whatever was haunting her dreams, and he only risked waking her up--bringing attention to the fact that he was watching her sleep in her own apartment, late at night, when he had no business there at all--by touching her. Nevertheless, he followed through with the gesture.

Botan turned at his touch, still fast asleep, holding his hand in both of hers, trying to wrap her body around it as well, clinging to his hand like it was the anchor to this life, the only safe port in a raging storm.

Hiei gave a barely noticable sigh, sitting down on a convenient wooden chest, one labelled 'Things To Do Once I Have Time;' (2) moving now would definitely wake up the onna, so he wouldn't. Anyways, it seemed almost like his touch was comforting her... Though in reality, he told himself,it was probably only something to cling to, not a particular someone, and anyone or thing could have stood in his place.

He laid back for a long night. As he slowly relaxed more and more the kitty Botan had adopted the day before, Rain, emerged from under her bed, a dust bunny nearly the size of her head caught on her ear, a silly confused expression on her face. Her eyes were wider than normalin the lowered light levels, tail twitching excitedly, tentacles swaying to some unknown inner rythm.

The cat walked right up to Hiei, reaching up with a tentacle to tap questioningly at his leg. The demon gave the animal a flat look. Ignoring the subtle warnings, Rain jumped onto his lap, turning twice before folding herself into a compact ball that began purring contendly, tentacles tapping happily against his thigh.

Pointedly ignoring the creature, or at least attempting to,he turned his attention to Botan's room, looking around at it with vague disinterest. The walls were remarkably bare, with only a few framed pictures of people she knew: Kurama, Kuwabara, Yusuke, Genkai, other ferry girls, Koenma, Yukina, Shizuru and Keiko, himself. The only other piece of furniture in the room, a desk, was equally empty, with only a notebook, a few pens and other office supplies on it, all so pristine it looked untouched. A fluffy pastel-blue cushion on the floor was the only other indicator that somebody, Botan in particular, lived in the room.

Hiei was slightly surprised. There was a minumim of things overly fluff, nothing pink; it was very reserved compared to what most people would have expected from the ferry girl. As he though about it, Hiei began to realize that it was fairly similar to what he was discovering about her: there was a lot more to her personality than what was immediately apparent.

As he mused slowly over his thoughts, he didn't notice Botan slowly swim back up to reality from the depths of her dreams.

"Hiei?" she mumbled, a fuzzy, confused look in her half-lidded eyes, heavy with sleep.

The half-koorime nodded in acknowledgement, unable to say anything. He had been caught in her apartment, late at night, with an on/off mating instinct, holding her hand, watching her as she slept. It... Didn't look good. At all.

Botan was starting to return to her normal state-of-mind, one not completely altered by her dreams and their after-affects. "What're you doing here?" she asked, looking bemused. _Good,_ though Hiei. _At least she's not too angry._

"I... Just wanted to check that everything was fine."

"Why?" she asked, blunt.

"Nightmares," said the demon, averting his eyes, unable to bring himself to lie to her but embarrassed. Maybe--if he was lucky--she wouldn't remember anything in the morning.

"I understand that," said Botan, head lowered, pain in her face. "They are... They're all of my fears made real. And I'm always alone, and I can see the nightmares happening, and I can see how they **could** happen, in real life..."

"And you can see yourself abandoned, driven away by people you knew, because you weren't good enough... Because everything wasn't nearly enough... Because you had no hope of suceeding, but had been allowed to try, and failed anyway..." half-whispered Hiei, his eyes blank; in his mind fragments of nightmares played, flashing past him.

Botan looked up at him, face set with resignation at the hurtful dreams that she had. "You just have to learn to be stronger than them," she said, voice lowered as well. The nighttime darkness pressed in around them, making them keep their voices low, an inexplicable mandate of silence enforced by the night.

"Yes..."

"Thank you for being here. Thank you... for caring enough about me to come on a whim, a deam-driven urge. Thank you."

"You don't mind?"

Botan smiled slightly, her expression half sad, half amused. "Well... Watching me sleep might be considered a bit weird, but it's also very nice of you. You didn't have to come, you didn't have to stay, and you could have woken me up when I grabbed your arm instead of just staying." Looking down she realized she was still clutching the aforementioned appendage tightly, clinging to it like a favorite teddy-bear, like a conglomerate of everything that had ever been safety and hope to her.

She blushed and released him, making a small "_...meep..._" of embarrasment as she did.

"I suppose I didn't have to stay," said Hiei, looking at her, "But I wanted to. I wanted to be there." He didn't know why he took her hand again, holding it gently, carefully, but he felt this need to comfort her... She was still haunted by her nightmares, face slightly too pale, her body tense with the remains of fear.

Botan looked at him, eyes wide. "Re..." her voice cracked. "Really? Thank you."

Hiei made a non-commital noise, glancing downwards, embarrased. Botan's free hand reached out to brush his shoulder, making him glance up, startled. The two looked at each other, red eyes meeting pink-and-purple ones, both filled with understanding.

Botan was lost in his eyes, eyes that, a week ago, she would have considered hard, empty. Now... Now she saw a lot more in them. She saw... understanding. Hope. A true desire to care for her. She saw... Love. She saw worry, and years of habit conflicting with new ideas...

Hiei looked into her eyes, and saw in them a summation of everything he already knew about her. He saw her depthless abilities to care for people, her need to help. He saw her loneliness, her insecurities... And, maybe, love. She loved him...

It might have been an accident when their lips touched. They were too lost in what they saw in the other to really think about what they were doing.

* * *

Hiei left once the kiss was over. 

Botan was left, breathless, joyous, alone in her bedroom, hand pressed to the side of her face, surprise stamped onto her features. Surprise and... happiness. Joy. Bliss.

Confusion.

It had been everything a first kiss should be. She didn't know if it really **was** her first, but she had decided long ago that the person she used to be and the person she was now were different. She had no memories of what happened before her death, and the fact had simply ceased to bother her.The kisshad been... Breathtaking. Enrapturing. All-consuming, filling up her every sense, seizing all her attention in one perfect, wonderful _now_. Her soul had been wrapped in a blanket of warmth, comfort, passion. She had felt loved, safe. Perfect...

Hiei perched on a tree near Botan's apartment, a branch carefully chosen so he could watch over it.

They had kissed. She had kissed him, or he had kissed her, but they probably kissed each other simultaneously, and it had been perfect. His instinct began to waken, pressing to the front of his mind, but he pushed it down. Regardless of who had started the kiss she had returned it, allowing the contact, the closeness... She had pressed against him, her lips on his, and he had done the same, reveling in the contact, finding rapture in the perfect moment...

Hiei had never been used to this. He had grown used to being the Forbidden Child, someone who was considered so vile, impure, that any contact with him at all had been repulsive...

He thought that, maybe, this would make up for all those years.

Love could do a lot.

He knew he loved her.

* * *

Both of them slept calmly that night, knowing the other wanted them near. Neither had another nightmare, and maybe, for a while, everything was perfect.

(1) Robert Frost, anyone? Consider the italicized phrase disclaimed.

(2) Am I the only person out there who has one of those? Or at least needs one?

**A/N**: Yeah! They kissed! .:is blissful:.

Sorry this chapter is so much shorter than the others... Oh well. Fluff makes up for it all! I'm also very happy: I got book 7 of Yu Yu Hakusho! Now I've read about halfway through the dark tournament! I'm no longer so behind! I have no access to a TV, so I'm stuck with manga. Bleah... Oh well. Now, I want all of you to review to make the Anime Fanfiction God happy: I need material to work with, here! I mean, I still have no idea who half the minor characters are. It's beginning to bother me... Anyways, reviews appease the Anime Gods, meaning the bookstore will be urged to get in new Yu Yu Hakusho manga, meaning my life will be good once more!

See you next update! Or whenever I email all of you who review! If you don't have an account and review anonymously, please leave an email address; I like to send thank-you emails to all of my reviewers, and I'm bothered when I can't... I just find it's more personal.

Remember: if the fifth reviewer so desires, I will write him-or-her a fic. If they don't, I won't.

**Shout-outs! **(Wow, I almost forgot these...)

Sachie Jaganshi: I tried to send you a thank-you email but the address didn't work! Anways, thank you SO MUCH for reviewing; I loved your review! Here, I'll love you back, also in a platonic friendship way! Yeah! I'd love to hear from you, so send an email, please! You seem like a great person in your review!

Animoon: I've UPDATED! Yeah! Not **as** fast, but still pretty good! Especially for me! Thank you very much for your continuing support! It's very nice!

Sorceress Damia: Really? Wow! Thank you so much! I'm so glad you like it!

Anichan: Seems like everyone likes Rain the Shapeshifting Kitty-thing! I'm afraid it wasn't as fast an update this time, but still relatively decent!

Crystal Koneko: Thank you! A lot! Your reviews are wonderful! I hope you enjoy this chapter as much! I'm glad you liked my bit with Yusuke!

omasuoniwabanshi: Wow! So many wonderfully long reviews! Thanks! .:falls over laughing at image of Inuyasha and Hiei at Starbucks:. That's... priceless! Scary! Slightly warped! A really really EXCELLENT mental image... Now I'm getting this strange urge to write it. Oh dear... I'm glad you liked my evil demon... Though I have to confess that that's largely because I can't write traditional fight scenes to save my life, as well as that, quite frankly, I often find them boring. So I improvised... Heh. And if you are evil for liking Hiei falling in love, your in good company. There's a lot of us Hiei/Botan fans out there... And I don't know whether I'm happy or disturbed that my book excerpts remind you of your college anthropology textbooks...

MystiKoorime: Thank you! Again! So much! Again! I hope you like this chapter too!

Sevetenks the Ultimate F: Hey there new reader-and-reviewer! Thanks for doing so! I'm glad you like it!

emma: And here we are! No account...? That's too bad. I hope everything goes well for youand you reach accountdom soon! I'm glad you liked the last chapter; I hope you like this one too!

Silverchild of the winds: Ooooh... I wonder too! I'm finding out as I write, so... So... So I really need to get my muses under control. Yeah, that's it... Also, like I said, Rain-the-cat isn't important to the story, she's merely **there**. Rain-the-wet-stuff-from-the-sky is merely a central theme to the fic, so I turned it into the title, because it's better than Hiei and Botan Fluffness!, say, as a title.

Yokai no Miko: Yeah! Great way to describe it, by the by... "half-baked mating instinct..." .:giggles:.

Caecuslupa: Thank you! So much! For reviewing! So nicely! Thank you thank you thank you! I'm glad you think I'm original! And put thought into it! And hearing 'please update soon!' from everyone is mostly the only thing that makes me do it! So... Thanks. Again!

Nordic-Nymph: Thank you so much! I did my best to hurry, but this chapter wasn't cooperating! I got it out eventually, though!

Aiiro-bara: Thank you, too! I hope you like this chapter just as much!

Miss Kyoshi: Well, thank you! Very much!

Ryukotsusei: I'm glad you liked the last update! I'm afraid this one is a bit shorter, but my inspiration was being stubborn... And there's more Hiei!With!Emotions! this chapter as well! And fluff. Let's not forget the fluff... Thank you for reviewing!


	5. Chapter Five

**It's Raining: Chapter Five**

**A/N**: Wow, this all seems to be going a bit fast... Oh well. I mean, Hiei and Botan both fall hard, and it's hardly like it's a silly infatuation... Neither of them are the type to have anything like that. Also they've known each other for a good long time at this point... It does take a while for love to form, but they've certainly had it. Enough time, I mean. So I suppose it's not _too_ far-fetched...

This chapter brought to you under the inspiration of Agnes, my ball python. She's a sweetie!

A randomly selected reviewer will get the chance to request a one-shot fic from me! Assuming somebody wants it…

**Day Six**:

Botan slowly spiraled out of her sleep into the waking day, her mind moving with syrupy lazy slowness. She woke up warm and peaceful, smiling gently.

Her mind was filled with delicious memories of the night before, and the kiss... Yes, the kiss. Botan blushed slightly as she thought about it, unsure why. They--her and Hiei--had kissed, a physical statement of what had only been said in words before. They loved each other... It somehow made it all much more real, more solid, more immediate.

She didn't know quite what to think. She loved him. She loved him a lot, and didn't think that would change in the near future. He loved her in return, and that seemed equally unlikely to go away. But... it was all so fast. It had only been six days since this had all started...

In six days Botan had realized she was in love, admitted to that love, had love admitted to her in return, and now kissed. All of that to Hiei, the person she would have thought least likely to ever love anyone, especially her... _But that's wrong, isn't it? _she thought. _He does love. He loves Yukina, a lot, and... he loves me too. He loves me..._

And she loved him. They had known each other for a long time, now, but she had never thought of loving him... In fact, she had feared him for a long time. Been actively scared of him. That had slowly faded as he became more a part of their group, but it had taken a while. She had never thought of him loving her...

But they did. Part of her, the cautious, shy side, wanted to wait, think over what was happening, because it was all so sudden. Another part of her didn't; they were both people who took love seriously, who loved for life. Neither of them was the sort of person to change their minds suddenly about something this important, so potentially hurtful. They loved each other, and waiting wouldn't change anything.

And what had that kiss meant, anyways? What did it really mean? What were the repercussions from the action?

What happened now?

Hiei gave a small, slight smile, gazing nearly dreamily at nothing. It was totally uncharacteristic for the generally taciturn fire demon, but love tends to do odd things to people.

They had kissed. They had kissed, and she hadn't pulled away. In fact, she had encouraged it. She had _liked_ it. It was a hard concept for the Forbidden Child to understand; He had spent his whole life being avoided by others; he had never expected people to seek out his attentions, romantic and otherwise.

That was changing.

It was just something else he was going to have to get used to.

Sometimes change wasn't so bad.

Botan sighed, stretched, pulled herself out of bed. She would stay there all day if given half a chance, but she needed to move **eventually**, much as she might dislike it.

Dressing in clothes suitable for the human world, Botan got herself a bagel, smeared some still-not-quite-expired cream cheese on a bagel and bounced out the door. The night before had put her in a spectacular good mood; even if she didn't know what would happen next, sometimes you had to stop thinking about the next event and just live in the now. The current now was a very nice one indeed.

Rain, once more looking like a moonlight tabby, all smoky gray and silver stripes, attached herself firmly to Botan's pants as she left, the very tips of claws, barely prickling her, threatening pain if she tried to leave without the animal. Botan laughed lightly and picked her up, cradling her in a bended arm. Maneuvering around Rain she managed to lock the door behind her, then left.

Hiei watched Botan leave her apartment. Abandoning his perch in the tree he hurried to her side, moving fast enough that he seemed to materialize out of thin air next to her.

Botan greeted him with a warm smile, blushing slightly, no doubt remembering the night before.

Hiei gave a (very) small smile in return, cold red eyes warming as he looked at her. They fell into step together, adjusting for differences so that they held even. Botan reached out, barely brushing his hand with her own. As she moved her hand away his followed her, encouraging the contact, and they compromised, continuing to walk with their hands barely brushing.

An easy silence was between them; neither had much to say. A faint blush still stained Botan's cheeks, and a smile was still hovering on her lips. Hiei's smile had disappeared, no surprise there, and his face had returned to its traditional blankness, but, maybe, it was slightly softer, kinder, than it had been.

Botan thought that maybe the thing she loved most about Hiei's smiles was how rare they were. They meant a lot more than ones from pretty much anyone else, and that scarcity made them more precious. He looked nearly sweet when he wasn't glaring, too. She giggled slightly, inside if not out loud, knowing that this was information she was going to take to her grave. It certainly wasn't something the moody half-koorime would appreciate.

Hiei realized that he really liked Botan's smiles. There was something amazing in how she had seen so much death, continued to do so, could have so many agonies over nobody loving her, could have no memory of her past at all, and continue to smile so often. It made them more appreciationable. If you realized what she was working through her never-ending smile wasn't as annoying, as irking.

_Of course_, he reflected, _I was the only one who ever thought that..._

Their rambling walk eventually brought them to Hiei's park, where Botan sat down on a handy bench overlooking a peaceful pond, which was reflecting the slightly cloudy sky overhead. The image was interrupted by the reeds that edged the far side of the body of water, _shush_ing slightly in the faint breeze.

Hiei opted to forgo the bench, but instead of going to 'his' tree he stood behind the bench, staying close to Botan. Their silence remained and the two stayed where they were, both absorbed in their thoughts.

_I wish... I wish we would mark each other. I know there's no reason not to wait, but... I want it to be over with. I just want it to happen, now... But I can't tell Hiei that. His mating instinct might still be in play, and that's not fair to him, to encourage something that he might regret later..._ Thought Botan, wistful, wanting.

_I want to mark her,_ thought Hiei. _But I won't. Not for a while, no matter how much I want it... It wouldn't be fair to her. She deserves someone better than me. It would be fairer to her to let her wait, too. I don't want to pressure her into this; I don't want her to make a decision she'll regret later. To be tied to her, and to have her be unhappy..._

Rain made a small noise of mild complaint and slid down Kagome's shoulder into her lap, where she turned around, faced the girl and proceeded to beg shamelessly. "Hungry?" asked Botan. "Let's go find you some cat food or something. Want some ice cream, Hiei? It just sounds good to me right now..."

The fire demon nodded in agreement. "Right, then, it's settled," said Botan. "Grocery store for cat food then the ice cream store. Though most people wait for sunny days for ice cream."

"I like the rain more," said Hiei.

"Me too."

As they stepped out onto the street holding their ice cream--vanilla for both of them--the rain started. It came without any warning, absolutely pouring down. You could see waves of it running down the streets; anybody walking crowded into the nearest open store. Hiei and Botan were the only people on the sidewalk except for a businesswoman running past, shielding herself from the rain with an already-soaking newspaper. They walked, Botan rambling on in a cheerful sort of way, eating their ice cream (the kitten would have to wait until they found a bus shelter for her food) and feeling the heavy beat of raindrops against their skin.

A head was stuck out of a bus stop up ahead. "Hey! Over here!" yelled Yusuke.

"I wonder what the odds are," muttered Botan. Hiei snorted slightly in amusement, the only indication that he had heard. She was encouraged by his reaction. He was nice to talk to, now he had stopped telling her to stop babbling whenever they were near each other. True, he didn't talk a lot, but that was okay. Not everyone did. He was just Hiei, and that was that.

"Hello!" said Botan, popping into the bus shelter. Inside, other than Yusuke, was Kurama, Kuwabara and Keiko. "Wow, this place is pretty empty considering how many people were running for shelter."

"Well, with **my** reputation..." began Yusuke before Keiko shot him a warning glare; that, coupled with a slight tensing of her muscles, was obviously a warning. Yusuke caught the (slightly) subtle threat and gulped, stopping the rest of his sentence. Kurama muffled a noise suspiciously close to a snigger, not that he would ever do anything so rude and inelegant, presumably at their actions. Hiei didn't even try to hide his smirk.

In the meantime Botan had been getting Rain her food. As the (not-quite) cat ate, purring happily, she reverted her attention back to the main group. Kuwabara noticed the cat and rushed over, going from his typical attitude to gushy in seconds flat. Everyone ignored him, because sometimes it just isn't worth it.

Kurama was thinking again. He noticed how Hiei and Botan stood, closer than they would normally. Actually, closer than two _other _people would normally, because on a 'normal' day Hiei and Botan would be on opposite sides of the room avoiding each other like they carried dangerously infectious diseases _as well as _the plague.

Today, though, they were nearly touching as they stood, comfortable and relaxed despite the closeness.

They really did love each other. Kurama wondered if they really knew how much the other cared for them. He doubted it; both of them were unused to both being in love and being loved in return. They were both the type to second-guess in matters of the heart...

_Maybe,_ he thought, _it's time to do a bit of meddling..._

When Kurama started paying closer attention to the ongoing conversation, no longer lost in his train of thought, he noticed a remarkably shrewd look on Keiko's face. He gave a mental note to contact her as a potential ally, then excused himself, saying that now that the rain had slowed he needed to be going home. Everyone gave him their good-byes and he was gone.

Keiko left next, saying that she really needed to finish up that one paper for school. A lull in the conversation formed, and a few brief moments later Botan left. "I really need to clean my apartment; it's an absolute mess!" she explained. Hiei followed after her.

"Why's Hiei going with her if she's going home to clean?" asked Yusuke.

"I dunno..." replied Kuwabara.

Botan didn't comment on Hiei's presence as she walked down the street. "Y'know," she started as they neared her apartment, "I really am planning on cleaning. You don't have to be there or anything..."

Hiei felt a twinge of doubt shudder through him; did she want him to leave?

Botan glanced to the side to get a glimpse at his face. A few days ago she wouldn't have noticed anything different about him from his normal expression, but now... She thought she saw a glimpse of doubt in him. "I'd like the company, though..." she finished shyly, almost turning the statement into a question. She couldn't say exactly why she noticed emotions in his faces now; maybe it had something to do with knowing that there were emotions there to see.

There was something unutterably, unbelievably, undeniably sweet about Botan when she smiled like that, all nervousness, hope and innocent, thought Hiei.

"I'll stay," he said, feeling slightly awkward. Her smile was a better response than any number of words. He loved her so much it ached.

They arrived at the apartment, where Botan started a load of laundry before tackling the kitchen. Hiei watched as she loaded up the dishwasher before starting on the other dishes, scrubbing at the various non-dishwasherable items she had used in the past while. There was still no conversation, but that was fine. Hiei wasn't the type for pointless talk, and Botan accepted that. It didn't keep her from chatting continuously when other people were around, but she was content to let the silence lie otherwise. It was a good compromise, one reached by mutual, if silent, agreement.

It was very quiet, except for the clinking of dishes and Botan humming, nearly silent, under her breath. It was very quiet, but a peaceful quiet, not a heavy, uncomfortable one.

The afternoon faded into evening, and the silence remained, and everything was... perfect.

A/N: Next chapter is the end of this particular bit of the story! I think. But don't worry, fans, (Hah! Yeah right.) I'm continuing past that. I want happy peaceful fluffment for my favorite couple, after all!

I just got back from camping! It was lots of fun, the campsite was beautiful and the wildflowers FANTASTIC BEYOND ALL BELIEF! There were tiger lilies and pinguiqula and two kinds of delphiniums and monkey flowers and white bog orchids and columbines and two kinds of lupins and paintbrush and one last lonely Jeffrey's Shooting-star and a type of wild allium and... and... everything was GORGEOUS!

Now that I'm done with my Flower Rant (I have no idea why all you people put up with this...) I'd like to tell everyone to

REVIEW! I've got something like 139 hits for the last chapter, so why don't I have 139 reviews? It's common courtesy to review something you like enough to read all the way through. And let's not start on people who put people on their favorites without reviewing...

Thank you very much to everyone who took the time to review last chapter! .:hugs people:. I love you all so much! I also have to say that I'm surprised I haven't got anything along the lines of "U suk (censored) (censored) hei n butan wud never luv eac hotther so go (censored) (censored) (censored) u (censored)" or the alternative child-acceptable version. I'm happy I haven't, though! Of course, now that I've said that I'll have jinxed it...

SHOUT-OUTS!

Reni-Chan: You're in luck! I finished with the new chapter just a day or so after you reviewed. I'm glad you like my story so much!

Fath8525: No need to beg for updates! It makes me all…uncomfortable. Thank you for reviewing!

tsukigana: Yeah! I know! I love it!

Kate326: Really? I'm so happy! Four in the morning? I collapse around 11... But then again I'm a morning person, so... Just thanks!

Blue Angel 1245: Really? Thank you! Thank you very much! It's very nice of you indeed to say such wonderful things!

Anichan: "And that has made all the difference" is taken from "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost. It's a very good poem! Thank you for another great review!

Tsuki Koorime: .:blushes:. I'm glad you like it that much! I'm doing my best to keep updates frequent!

Sachie Jaganshi: Hey there! Thank you so much for your review! I hope to get through your beta job soon, but life's intruding... Bleah.

Nordic-Nymph: Cheers for Robert Frost! I love the rhythms he uses. I'm very glad you like my story so much!

BlueWater26: Life is overrated. Don't bother. Heh. Just needed to say that... I'm a bookworm too! Totally and completely! It's nothing to be ashamed of.

Caecuslupa: Thanks for another review! I have to confess that I love sweetness, and fluff too. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with nightmares... Mostly they're symbolic of deep issues both of the two have. So... I dunno? How's that for an answer... Gah, I'm so depressing, I have no idea where this story is going...

Yokai no Miko: Thank you! Very much so!

KayHiei: Adorable? Yay! It's what I'm going for! I'm doing my best to update soon!

Animoon: Isn't Rain adorabobble? And the kiss was good? Yay! I'm afraid this chapter is short too...

fire-demon-goddess: Hey there first time reviewer! This story's the best one you've ever read? Really? Thank you so much!

Aiiro-bara: Heh. Fluff!

Miss Kyoshi: I'm glad you like my fluff! Thank you for reviewing!

RitSuYue: Thank you for another wonderful review! I'm glad you like my version of, as I've taken to thinking of it, The Kiss. Sorry for another shorter chapter!

omasuoniwabanshi: Thank you for another wonderful review! I don't actually have much to say here, I've said it all in my email… So just, thanks!

Ryukotsusei: I'm always extremely complimented by your reviews! Thank you very much for them. I'm glad you like my characterization; it's one of the most important parts of a good story to me!

Yoru Inu: Thank you!

MystiKoorime: Thank you too! I love getting nice long reviews like yours! Absolutely love it! Thank you… Again!

…22 reviews… .:shock:.


	6. Love

**It's Raining** by Dreaming of Everything

**Chapter Six**

**A/N**: Hey there everyone! Love you all for reading this far! I really really do!

I just got back from another camping trip and, before that, a backpacking trip! Both were loads of fun! The only problem was that the first day of the backpacking trip had 3000 ft. of elevation gain when we only expected 1000, and the second day was nine miles instead of five, leaving me utterly exhausted...

I wrote lots and lots on the camping part of the trip! I was too tired when I was backpacking...

The wildflowers were gorgeous...! But I'll spare you my Wildflower Rant, since you all read it last time... Oh, nevermind. I won't. I saw more delphiniums! Bronzebells, two kinds of saxifraga, pinguiqula, a bugbane, columbines, woodnymph, maidenhair ferns, vine maples, mimulus, three kinds of huckleberry, beargrass, kalmias, two kinds of heather, orchids and bog azaleas!

A **WARNING** for this chapter, but not a major one: This is the bit that deserves this chapter it's T rating, for Bad Things Which Will Not Be Named, because that would give away this chapters' plot twist. There will NOT be ANYTHING lemony; go find someone else other than an emotionally stunted 14-year-old to write that. Or don't, depending on personal preference.

**Disclaimer:** .:insert something clever here:. I don't own it. None of it. Minus the plot, which is hardly original, so even that's a maybe...

Bold text without quotation marks is speech using Hiei's Jagan. Bold text within quotation marks is used for emphasis. Italics without quotation marks indicate thoughts and italics within quotation marks is the same as it is for bold text. I hope very sincerely that you all know what quotation marks are.

Day Six into Day Seven:

Hiei and Botan ate a pleasant dinner together, the peaceful silence continuing.

_It's amazing,_ thought Botan, _how telling silence can be... A few days ago all of our silence was so uncomfortable, awkward. Now... Now it's enough to let things be and just exist, when I'm with him. I can feel the quiet...embracing me._

After the unlikely pair finished eating Botan gathered up the plates, taking them to the kitchen. She reached her goal and pivoted to return to clear the rest of the table. She nearly ran into Hiei as she did, stopping short to avoid the collision; the moody fire demon was carrying the rest of the dishes.

Botan was honestly surprised. "Thank you," she managed, eyes slightly wider than they normally were. It was partly surprise at Hiei giving help and also, she realized, a continued surprise that he loved her...

Hiei wasn't sure why he helped; he supposed it was for the same reasons he helped Yukina. Either way, the pleased smile Botan gave him as she noticed his help woke up a strange fluttery warm feeling in the pit of his stomach. He nodded his head slightly in recognition of his help.

After a few minutes more of silence as Botan bustled around the kitchen, putting their dinner dishes in the dishwasher and other quick chores, Hiei spoke again.

"Thank you," he said, not sure if he was thanking her for the whole afternoon, dinner or something more. "I have to go now; I have training to do. I want to use up as much of my energy as I can each day until the mating season ends."

Some indefinable note of sorrow entered Botan's face. "You're welcome; Thank **you**, actually. Your company was wonderful."

_I was right,_ echoed in the ferry girls' mind. _He's not ready to mark me. He's probably afraid the mating season is affecting his judgment. _(1) _I was right, I guess... Now it _really_ wouldn't be fair to encourage him to mark me._ There was a resigned sadness to her thoughts.

There was an equally resigned sorrow to Hiei. _I shouldn't have reminded her about something she had no control over, _he thought. _If my instinct hadn't kicked in she would be so much closer to becoming the ordinary human she wants to be... I am the Forbidden Child. Cursed. Taboo. My love will never help, heal... Anyone who loves me in return will only be hurt more._ The half-koorime was careful to keep his features schooled to their normal blankness. Botan noticed the strictly enforced return to blankness; Hiei wasn't obvious in his emotions, but they had been there. At least until he had suddenly reverted back to the empty unreadable void she had known for so long. It hurt.

"Goodnight," said Botan, almost wistfully, as she stood with Hiei on her porch. He had never been one to leave (or enter) by the front door.

"Goodnight," he responded, voice empty. Sad, too, to Botan's ears.

Almost hesitantly she pressed a soft kiss into his lips, unsure what his reaction would be. When he responded, leaning in to deepen the kiss, she felt a bubble of nervousness she hadn't known she had had pop, disappearing into the flood of warmth rushing through her. She lost herself in the sensation...

The two broke apart a brief minute later. "Good bye," said Botan again, and there was a sudden rush of air, a brief seconds where she felt lips too warm (2) to be human against hers, and then she was alone, with a last whispered good-bye echoing in her ears.

She walked off the porch, some of the more 'interesting' (i.e., dangerous) plants Kurama had planted rustling around. She knew that they were no danger to her and whoever else Kurama had exempted from the protection, but the murmur of leaf against leaf when there was no wind to move them was unsettling. Botan shivered slightly, not entirely from the cooling air. She shook herself, both mentally and physically, and determinedly strode indoors. She drew herself a hot bath and undressed before settling into it, the steam and warmth soothing tension she hadn't known she'd been carrying. Botan heaved a sigh and stretched before collapsing back into the warm water. This was bliss...

_Bliss, as long as I don't think of... Of anything important._

For the first time, last time and only time Hiei couldn't focus on training. A certain kiss, a peaceful silence, a shy smile, kept on interrupting. The return of his mating instinct wasn't helping, either.

After finding himself frozen, gazing off into space, lost in thought, several times, he gave up. He walked, slowly for once, to 'his' tree in the park. Climbing up it he assumed his regular position, where he did a quick mental scan with his Jagan.

Everything was the way it should be; Kurama eating a late dinner with his mother, Yukina fast asleep, Yusuke in the middle of a tirade about Koenma to Kuwabara,

Botan in the warm foggy haze that comes right before sleep.

Botan had finally dragged herself out of her rapidly-cooling-to-tepid bathwater when she felt herself nodding off; falling asleep in the bath is a stupid thing to do that gets people early deaths by drowning. Botan had a lot of personal experience with this. She was, after all, Death...

Now she was laying on her bed; somehow she had dried herself off and slipped into a nightgown. The night was too warm for covers so she fell asleep just like that, slightly curled on top of the pristine spread of her sheets. A small smile grew as she thought of a rare soft look from Hiei, the demon she loved. Despite all the problems, the worries, insecurities, she loved him...

Hiei drifted off to sleep, a deeper rest than he normally had. His last thoughts were of soft blue hair and pink eyes warm with love.

It was late, her room dark and peaceful, when Botan's eyes snapped open, looking up at the ceiling above her. Something... was happening... The just-risen moon outside her room was illuminating her room. Maybe it was the change in lighting that had woken her up.

Oh well. She was awake now, and their was no use crying over spilt milk.

Speaking of milk...

Botan walked into her kitchen and found herself a glass by feel and splotches of moonlight, filling it with milk. She drank it quickly—It was still too warm out to heat it up—and put the glass by the sink. Yawning she ambled back into her bedroom, any earlier feelings of unease fully and completely dispelled.

There was a small rustling in the silence; Botan paused, covers pulled back on her bed, glancing over her shoulder. She thought she caught a gleam of red eyes in the darkness. "Hiei?" she asked, feeling slightly silly. "Is that you?"

A white bandanna fell into a puddle of moonlight. Mind still foggy with sleep Botan leaned forward to look at it. Deciphering her sleep patterns to the point where she knew that yes it _was_ Hiei's warded bandanna that he used to cover his Jagan. Which brought her to the next problem... What was Hiei's bandanna doing here? Shouldn't it be with Hiei?

An unknown instinct made her look up. Hiei (_so he was here_... thought a removed part of her mind) stood in front of her, Jagan fully opened, his skin black in the shades-of-gray world of moonlight. Botan's mind filled in the color, a deep green; disinterestedly she noticed his elongated fangs and claws. Copies of the Jagan in his forehead had opened all over his body.

"Hiei?" she asked again. Her tired mind just wasn't grasping... what was... happening...

A low growl grew in his throat, deep and threatening, its sensation more tactile than audible. A sudden rush of fear at the guttural sound, entirely instinct, flooded through her; the adrenaline cleared the lingering fog of sleep from her mind.

There was a sudden burst of fire on Botan's porch, and the plantings that had been there were nothing more than cinders; the structure itself was untouched. Instinct was urging Hiei on: Botan was **his**, his alone, his to protect, and any other demons' mark was a threat, something to be destroyed. A worry that was much deeper than instinct shivered through Botan.

Something was wrong. Botan was about to manifest her oar when she was suddenly pressed up against the wall, pinned to it, strong hands holding her there, warm enough that she could feel the heat radiating off of him—Hiei—as he pressed against her, forcing her to keep still...

She struggled against him, her actions useless. She couldn't move... The fire demon frowned slightly before drawing a sharp claw down the front of her thin nightgown, tearing open the cloth. A thin line of blood followed behind his claws, an after-thought. The tips were sharp enough, the touch delicate enough, that the pain seemed far-away, as if it was happening to another person...

Hiei could feel the drive to mark her, mate her, coursing through his system, a thick haze; Botan could see the desire in his eyes. Both of them could hear her heartbeat, pounding... Only Botan could hear her screaming, kept as it was in her mind, silent...

Some far-away part of the demons' mind was furious, horrified, but the weight of the rest of his resolve was too over-powering. He could smell Botan's intoxicating scent, sweet and human, overlaid with the clean smell of rain.

He pressed his lips into hers, urgently, hungrily, his fangs scraping against her delicate mouth, the coppery taste of blood filling the kiss. Botan's struggles were going weaker as she grew more and more desperate about the futility of the situation, more and more worn out from her previous struggles.

He quickly switched his attention from her lips to the base of her neck, where it merged seamlessly into her shoulders, the bare expanse of skin empty, unmarked. He smirked into it, trailing his tongue over the skin, brushing it with the tips of his fangs, searching, searching... He was nothing but a hungry, craving instinct, demanding that it have its way...

Botan's mind was both frozen with panic and rushing onward violently, and always filled with horror... She knew what he was doing: looking for the little knot of power that was close to the surface in both humans and demons, the place that was bit to mark someone... She had _wanted_ this but not like this, no, never like this, no no no, this was all wrong, nooo...

Another smirk from Hiei, who wasn't Hiei. Botan knew that, and could feel his fangs ready to bite into her neck, for once and for always... You are only marked once, unless the person who marked you died. She didn't want that, didn't want this...

Desperate tears spilled out of her eyes, a useless gesture of lost hope. She sagged, broken, sobbing against the hands and body that held her captive.

The roiling instinct that was Hiei's thoughts cleared long enough for a single lucid thought: _something was wrong_. It served to slow him, pause him; he sniffed the air carefully. He had destroyed the protections put on by another demon, another male, a threat to his claim and a blow to his honor. He was completing the taking of what was rightfully his...

There was a scent of salt in the air. Bitter salt, not the human-filled smell of sweat. Salt from tears...

It was enough to snap him out of the automatic haze of his uncontrolled, instinctual lust, even when pleas hadn't been: talking was normal, pleading was normal, struggling was normal, to his dark instinct, but tears were not.

Hiei gazed for the first time into the face of the onna he had pinned to the wall. No, not just a woman: Botan. With a growing sense of horror he backed slowly away, gently releasing her. Botan's face was wet with tears, a smudge of blood on her cheek from her torn lip, twin bruises growing on her arms where he had held her to the wall. Her nightgown lay in tatters around her, also smudged with blood, and a dark cut reached from below her collar-bone to her navel. She was panting, breath coming hard. Botan refused to meet Hiei's eyes.

The half-koorime turned. His instinct... He had lost control... Nearly marked Botan against her will, nearly raped her... Hurt her... He had hurt her...

He refused to meet her eyes, to see fear in them when she looked at him, see her flinch away from him. He couldn't take that, never...

Hiei gently placed the woman in his arms on the bed, backing away quickly. And then... And then he turned and ran, the malevolent deep green tint fading from his skin, the copies of his Jagan closing, nails and teeth shortening; a single tear dropped behind him, the crystal rolling across the ground. He ran away, because he couldn't face seeing the one person who had ever told him that she loved him look at him with fear in her eyes. The one person he had ever loved, repulsed because he couldn't control himself, had nearly done unspeakable horrors to her...

Botan had slipped into a daze as he had let go of her, relief flooding her, so heavy that she couldn't think, move. She was safe... She shivered, felt sensation coming back into her limbs, a thin line of pain and a wider band of aching fading back into notice.

Hiei... He had lost control of his instinct. So close to the end, too, just a day or so before the instinct started fading... Hiei...

Did she love him?

Yes. She loved him.

A little part of her was hysterical, crying, but she pushed it aside. He had regained control of himself, and this was no time for tears.

The way he had looked at her, when he had realized what he had been about to do...

Idly, unable to think straight, some part of her wondered what had made him stop. Another removed part of her mind analyzed her reaction as shock.

Everything seemed scattered...

An image of Hiei, backing away from her, red eyes wide and unguarded, horror and shock and panic and sadness and ashamedness and a terrible fear and most of all **guilt** apparent in his face, came swimming into her mental line-of-sight. Some of her blood was smeared on his cheek.

Another thought, slow and lazy, drifted into her mind, unexpectedly fierce and forceful. _That hadn't been Hiei; Hiei loved her_...

Some part of her mind knew that nobody would ever love her.

She got to her feet, naked, unsteady, the long thin scrape on her upper body (_It was already scabbing over..._ noticed some part of her) pulling painfully at her movements. Slow, vague, she pulled on loose pants and the first shirt she came too, ignoring the blood that started to seep through it. Botan picked up Hiei's warded bandanna and, nearly dreamily, still in a state of shock, manifested her oar. She walked to her porch, where the still-warm ash of what had been her patio garden lay in a thin black covering, a dusting of negative snow.

She didn't know where Hiei would be. Away from her... The cold night air blowing past her was enough to bring her back to herself. She loved Hiei, and he was hurt, and she could help and not helping was _unacceptable_

He wasn't in his normal tree in the park, or the warded clearing he trained in. Where else had she seen him...?

Hiei didn't know why he had retreated to the tree just outside of the clearing Botan had landed in, seven days ago. It was, he supposed, the last time things had been 'normal' between him and Botan... This was the place he had first felt a twinge of curiosity about Botan, when he had seen her walking in the rain, a funny sort of expression on her face. The first time he had spent any real amount of time thinking about her, most likely the moment his instinct had picked her out...

Everything was different now.

He was vaguely aware of the clink of tear gems gently rolling with his breath, pooled in folds in the material of his clothes. He had no memory of shedding them.

Botan landed awkwardly, her ankle twisting beneath her. She ignored the pain, getting up, searching the clearing frantically. The place she had landed for a walk, the other day, when she had been struck by a sudden sorrow brought on by watching over the city.

"Hiei?" she called, voice wavering. "Hiei!"

"Botan?" he said. The ferry girl didn't hear him; she was a ways away from him, and only his demon hearing had made him hear her.

"Hiei, are you here? _Please_ answer me... Please don't leave... I know I can't find you if you don't want me too..."

The koorime slipped out of his tree, faster than the human eye could follow, stopping short a little ways from Botan. Slowly, carefully, afraid of her reaction, he walked up.

"Botan?" he said again, voice rough with emotion.

She gasped, happy and relieved, tears that had been pooled in her eyes running down her face. She stepped towards him, almost afraid he was only a hallucination brought on because of stress, or that he would run away again. Her foot twinged painfully as she put it down and she quickly drew it back up, switching her gait to a cautious limp.

Hiei watched her hiss with pain as her foot touched the ground, and couldn't hold back. He hurried to her, his movements as if he'd disappeared than reappeared. He steadied Botan, prepared to leave as she cringed away from him. Prepared for her to cringe.

The expected flinch away from his presence and touch never happened, and he looked into her face.

Tears were pouring down Botan's cheeks, but she was eerily silent. Botan reached out and grasped at Hiei, wrapping him into a desperate hug, comforting herself with his presence; the fire demon responded, hesitantly returning the embrace.

"I... I was so afraid you were gone..." she said brokenly.

"...Thought you'd never want to see me again... Oh God, I never meant to hurt you..."

"It wasn't you," said Botan firmly, repositioning herself so that she held him by the shoulders, looking deep into his red eyes. "**This** is you. You care. You... love me?" She ended with a question, unsure.

"Yes. I love you." There was a firm conviction in the quiet words.

"I love you too," said Botan, her voice soft, slightly shy.

The two stood there, taking comfort in having the other.

There was an intense feeling of release in Hiei. Botan didn't hate him, didn't fear him, _loved _him...

Somewhere deep inside of her, within a surge of emotions and sensations (receding panic, euphoric joy, shaky relief, twinges of pain) was an unshakable calm.

**Hiei** loved her. Somehow—she wasn't sure how, didn't want to think about it, she might begin to doubt it—she knew that his instinct was no longer influencing it. She loved him, and he loved her, and there were no other affecting factors.

"I... Need to go home and fix myself up," said Botan finally.

Hiei nodded once in recognition of the words. The clearing was darkening as clouds curdled across the sky, covering the moon.

"...Would you come with me?" asked Botan. Hiei smiled up (3) at her.

Botan materialized her oar. Hiei shot her a blank look.

"**No.**" he said firmly. "There is no way in hell I'm getting on that thing."

"How do we get home, then?" said Botan.

"...I'll carry you."

Botan lay in Hiei's arms, holding onto him tightly.

"I'd like it known that I _really_ don't like this..." she said.

"Hn." said the fire demon noncommittally. Botan smiled slightly at the small noise, so entirely Hiei-ish.

A few brief seconds later they were once again on Botan's porch. Hiei looked guiltily at the piles of ash as the first few drops of rain splattered onto them.

The two entered the apartment, Botan finding her medical kit; Hiei looked over her ankle, satisfied himself that it wasn't broken and wrapped it tightly. The ferry girl retreated to the bathroom to wash the blood off of the longer cut that Hiei had given her; it wasn't very deep at all, and there was no way to bandage it without wrapping herself with gauze to the point that she resembled a half-finished mummy, so she left it as it was.

She walked back out into the main room, noticing that Hiei had straightened up her room. She smiled softly, privately, at the little gesture.

Botan took a slight detour, stopping by the kitchen to put on the kettle, heating up water for tea.

She sat down next to Hiei on the couch, so close that they were barely touching. Each one had a sense of the other next to them, the contact so close that they could feel it, electrifying, running, comfortingly, through their body.

Botan sighed and leaned into the person next to her, needing the comfort. Hiei wrapped an arm around her waist, encouraging her.

"Oh!" said Botan, suddenly remembering. She rummaged in her pockets before pulling out Hiei's bandanna, wordlessly offering it to him. The half-koorime took it, tying it back in place around his head.

Botan slowly grew aware of Hiei's scent, a mix of burning rosemary and fir with a faint smell underneath it, a strange musk, that she assumed was demon. She wondered off-handedly what another demon would smell.

The tea kettle whistle sounded. "Tea?" asked Botan. Hiei shook his head no. "Okay then."

She returned shortly, cup of steeping tea in hand. She took a deep, calming breath of the fragrant steam before setting it on the coffee table.

"Hiei? Is your instinct still affecting you?"

The question was unexpected. Hiei thought a few brief moments before answering. "No. I think that... earlier... was the last of it."

Botan nodded slowly. "Would... Would you be willing to take me as your mate?" She blushed heavily as she finished the question and looked away.

"...Why?" asked Hiei, stunned, a welter of confusing emotions chasing their way through their mind in a dizzying repetitive pattern. "I thought what you wanted most was to be a normal human. Please don't do this only because of me..."

"Plans change," she said simply.

Hiei looked deeply into her face, searching for any trace of doubt, any hesitation, any unspoken motives. A steady calm had surfaced from somewhere deep inside of her.

He stepped a few feet away from her, pulling off the headband that covered his Jagan, slowly switching into his full-demon form again. "You know who I am?"

He didn't want her to associate who he was only with his normal form and his darker, uncontrollable instincts with his full form; he would need to be this way, with his youki in full force, for the marking anyways. And he wanted

Botan felt a slight stab of momentary fear, left over from earlier that evening, but it receded as she saw Hiei's warm gaze leveled at her, the gaze of the man she loved. She felt growing desire pooled deep within her,

She walked over to him, pulling him into another embrace. She lowered her head to his neck, laid a soft kiss, looked back at Hiei, silently asking permission. He smiled gently at her, pulled her closer, holding her protectively in his arms. She lowered her head once more, mouth hovering over his skin, her breath a feathery caress, searching for the place that felt instinctually **right**. She found it, plunging her teeth, hard as she could manage, into a certain spot in the junction between neck and shoulder.

Hiei's demon-fast healing kept him from losing much blood, but the few drops produced were kissed up by Botan, her tongue dabbing softly (sensuously) against his skin.

She raised her head and they kissed, mouths hungry, seeking, desire warm and strong between them; Hiei transferred his attention to the base of her neck, hesitating slightly—just long enough for Botan to notice—before biting down. He licked away the blood as it welled up from the punctures, Botan feeling shivers of ecstasy wind their way through her body at the touch.

They broke apart for a few minutes, staying only in a loose hug, letting what had happened sink in.

Marked. They were tied together now, forever bonded.

Once that would have scared Botan, the idea that there was no backing out. Now there was just a brilliant euphoria, a sense of forever, an understanding that **she** was the one that Hiei loved, just as much as she loved her.

Hiei felt a calm surprise (someone loved him... Had marked him... Wanted to be with him forever, even though she knew his past...) and an equally fierce joy. Marked... And in love.

Hiei could smell the strong desire in Botan's scent, knew there was an answering one in his, mixed in with a supreme happiness, and deep love. He tightened the embrace, pressing himself against her, a sudden urgency in his motions. Botan felt it and responded, needing it just as much, and they pressed their lips together in a fierce kiss filled with rising passion and Botan's last thought was of Hiei's heat against her, and how it reflected the heat rising within her...

Botan awoke early, the sky still gray from dawn, the very early morning serenely calm and still. She drifted slowly to an aware state, gradually recognizing that the warm shape she was curled around was Hiei. The events of the night before didn't hit her with a sudden jolt, but instead slowly drifted out of the background. Botan sighed happily and stretched, untangling herself from the body beside her.

Hiei was aware of Botan slowly awakening beside him, beautiful and serene in the calm of peaceful waking. She was always beautiful; not in the icy way of the koorime, but in a warm way, a comforting way. She was beautiful because he loved her. She loved him back. The thought brought a small, secret smile to his face. bonded forever... He opened his eyes and laid a small nuzzling kiss on a little scabbing-over wound on Botan, right at the junction where her neck flowed into her shoulder.

Life is often confusing, and often lonely. Sometimes, though... Sometimes, life is perfect.

(1) Funny how people tend to reflect their own insecurities onto others...

(2) Fire demon, right?

(3) Sorry, but I always write Hiei as short. I know a lot of people don't, but to me it's just sort of who he is. There's not much of a height distance as things are, though; I mean, Botan's not particularly tall and female, so Hiei's not that much shorter than she is.

A/N: Gah... So **dark**! I feel like such an awful person, doing that to poor Botan and Hiei...! I do such terrible things to my favorite characters... But then it's all happy! So, am I a good person, a bad person or a obsessed H/B shipper-fanatic fanficcer? What a question...

This chapter was another hard one for me to write, but I managed to get it out, and hopefully it's a decent one. It's certainly different from the ones I've written previously, so I dunno...

Sorry, but I didn't get to Kurama-and-Keiko plottingness, but this needed to happen, and if I didn't finish this chapter here it would probably be another two weeks before you got it, due to astronomy camps (yay! I'm excited!)

On a brighter note, I saw Howl's Moving Castle! Twice! It was really really good!

Thanks again to all my wonderful reviewers!

**Shout-Outs**:

Kuramalovergirl: Is this soon enough? .:grins and winks:. Thanks for the review!

Ashley: Yes, I did! I'm very glad you like it! I needed a way that wasn't unbelievably boring to get across my altered mythology, and this is what happened… The inventiveness of necessity, I suppose.

Nikki: Thank you! I'm very glad indeed that you like my writing! I'm afraid that I'm completely and utterly inexperienced in the romance department, so vague is what you get for kisses and such. I'm glad you appreciated my email! You really think I've written the best H/B fic you've read? Wow! .:blushes:.

BlueFireIce: I'm glad it's one of your favorites! I try not to write complete mush, because it tends to be too unrealistic... And Hiei and Botan just aren't mushy people.

Sachie Jaganashi: And I continue on my quest to ruinate (heh...) the English language through fanfiction! What joyous fun! Umm... That was about non-dishwasherable, which is just such a mouthful to say that I love it to pieces. I did lots of writing on my most recent camping trip! There's something incredibly inspiring about a beautiful rushing river, sunny 70-degree days, cool forest and not having to move except for meals... Trust me, there's no such thing as too much sugar! Love you lots too! Thanks for reviewing!

Silverchild of the winds: OoC? Really? Hm. Too bad... I'm afraid that I try to concentrate on a few characters at a time, to develop them in particular; don't expect too many appearances from any other characters.

KayHiei: Yes, Kurama is going to meddle! I was going to include it in this chapter, but it didn't fit... Next chapter, though, most definitely!

Vindiya: Wonderfully perfect? I love that phrase, for some reason! Thank you very much for the review!

emma: I **love** fluff! Thank you for more wondermous reviews! It's always nice to have regulars like you!

Yokai no Miko: I love camping and the outdoors, but to each their own! And I know about the hit-count thing (I do the same thing) but it still doesn't add up... Sorry I don't get to Kurama and Keiko's Plans (capital intended) in this update!

BlueWater26: Thanks for another chapter? You're welcome! It was my pleasure! I'm glad you like my Yusuke characterization! He's always tricky for me to write, nearly as bad as Kurama...

omasuoniwabanshi: Meddling can be so much fun... But then, what is fanfiction for but to mess with your favorite characters?

I'm glad you like my slow introduction to a realistic version of love; you're image of Hiei and Botan as Romeo and Juliet had me laughing hysterically. Great mental image there...

And I'm pretty sure that flamers flame more for flaming than for actual opinions on the story... Why else do people click on stories clearly labeled with a pairing and then flame about that? It's always bothered me... But, as Einstein said, "Only two things are infinite: the Universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former."

I'm afraid that my slip-up with typing 'Kagome' instead of 'Botan' is what happens when I try to write two stories simultaneously... Yes, you can expect IY stuff from me sometime in the foreseeable future!

Thank you for a marvelous review!

Nordic-Nymph: Cute? Yay! It was what I was going for! I like Fire and Ice too! Another one of my favorites. I think I know what Botan wants... Heh heh... Gah. You have my permission to slap me for that comment. I think I've been writing Yusuke too long...

Caecuslupa: (quoted from your review) "I hope someday I can find some one I can be silent with, as well as talk with (if that makes any sense at all lol)"

Yep, that made lots of sense! Y'see, I do too!

And stuff most definitely happens between our favorite couple, as you've read... Heh heh.

And you're very right about the typo... .:sigh:. I need to stop writing several stories simultaneously.

I'm glad my story continues to live up to standards! Thank you for your review!

Aiiro-bara: Sweetness! I love it! Love your reviews, too!

Miss Kyoshi: Thank you for another review!

RitSuYue: You know, I'm so glad you gave me the idea for my other H/B fic! I'm having loads of fun on it! I'm glad you don't mind shortness!

Fath8252: .:is glad no threatening is being involved in this:. Here is some more diet cherry vanilla dr. pepper! Have fun with it!

fire-demon-goddess: Here is another shout-out! Feel very special indeed! I'm going to snicker quietly at your weather, now, though. Here in the PNW (Pacific North West) the average day only gets to 75 or 80 degrees...

Ryukotsusei: You know, your review just so perfectly sums up everything I've thought about Hiei and Botan's romance that I have nothing to add. Thank you very much!

LoudMouth0920: I'm doing my best to update as much as possible!

Sevetenks the Ultimate F: Thank you! It's nice to see you return to review again!

Animoon: I like the idea of Kurama as a matchmaker too... .:sniggers:. I personally don't like people who only post a paragraph or so at a time, unless they update every day; it just bothers me, for some reasons. Four pages is my minimum update size, but the first chapters in this fic were, like, 12. Gah, I'm rambling...

Jessica: Thank you for reviewing! I'm very glad you like my story!

**To Whom It May Concern**: (Sorry, couldn't resist!) I'm sorry that I didn't get out all of my personal emails this time; I wanted to get out this chapter before I left, and it was one or the other. I'll have them next time, though! If you normally get one and didn't this time, then don't worry, I haven't decided I hate you or anything.

Thanks, all you reviewers!


	7. Endings

**It's Raining: Chapter Seven**

**A/N**: This is the final chapter of It's Raining. There will be no more after this, and no epilogue. Actually, you could say this **is** the epilogue.

(Start shameless plug) I was considering extending this story but I was bitten by another Hiei/Botan plot-bunny and decided to end it. Sorry. I hope, however, that you all go check out my new story, which will be out several days after this final chapter is posted. It will be fun, I promise you. .:grins:. (End the plugging.)

This chapter includes the long-awaited Planning of Kurama and Keiko. I know lots of you have been waiting.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own any YYH characters in any way, shape or form. I do not own any Robert Frost poems. All other quotations are owned by me, along with the plot of this story and my altered mythology. The original mythology doesn't belong to anyone, unless you count the Japanese people as a whole. It's their culture, after all.

Day Seven:

The day began sunny, though it quickly clouded over. By mid-morning a steady, pounding rain had started, quieting the world's noises to a muted background mumble overlaid with the shush of raindrops.

"Shuichi! A friend is here to see you!" yelled Kurama's mother up the stairs of their house.

_I wonder who that is...?_

Kurama padded down the stairs to the front door, surprised to see a slightly nervous-looking Keiko.

"Hello, Keiko," said the red-head, surprised. "It's nice to see you."

He led the girl upstairs to his room, offered her something to drink, which she declined, and sat her down in his desk chair before taking up a seat on his bed.

Keiko shifted, looking even more nervous. "I actually have a...favor to ask you," she began. "I know that you're the one who's known Hiei the longest..."

"Does Botan have anything to do with this?" asked Kurama, pleased that his suspicions had turned out correct.

"Yes, actually. You might know that we are good friends, Botan and I, and I think I know her fairly well at this point. You know that Botan and Hiei are in love, I know, but... Oh, how to say this? I'm worried that Botan will refuse to do anything because of some... insecurities she has."

Kurama was sincerely impressed. She had noticed the original issue, Botan's state of mind, attached it to the current issue, and then decided to come to him as the person who knew the other half of the couple (Hiei) best.

He gave a small smile. "Actually, I've been thinking along much the same lines. Hiei has--how did you put it?--insecurities as well. I'm worried about both of them. Quite frankly, I think that a little... outside involvement would be best at this point." He gave a small smile, one returned by Keiko. Understanding flashed between them.

"The biggest question, though, is how to manage it..." frowned Keiko. "Botan might respond well to a little nudge from her friends..."

"I could try to talk Hiei into a better mindset..." mused Kurama.

"I'll get Yukina, Shizuru and Kagome together and tell them what's happening." said Keiko. "We can probably get started on that today."

"Hiei should visit me today as well," said Kurama. "I'll see what I can do."

Botan was happy. Very very happy. Less typically, so was Hiei.

Currently they were at the base of a tree in 'Hiei's' park. The arrangement was a compromise of sorts: they weren't in a tree and they weren't on a bench. The branches kept most of the rainwater off of them, but the occasional fat drop fell onto them, spotting their clothing.

"We'll need to tell everyone we're marked eventually, you know," said Botan.

"Hn."

"It'll affect them, too, after all."

"It's none of their business."

"It is their business, you know."

"..."

"C'mon, Hiei!"

"Fine."

"Great!" enthused Botan. "Now I need to go get a hold of people... Later?"

Hiei nodded an affirmative, standing with his mate. Botan hugged him close to her, feeling his more-than-human warmth, (1) Hiei allowing the contact. As she let go he laid a feather-light kiss on her shoulder over the mark he had made the night before.

Botan gave a small twirl as she walked off into the wet day.

"Botan!" said Keiko, happily surprised, as she answered her phone. "How are you?"

"Great!" said Botan. "Actually, I want to talk to everyone. I was thinking another girl night?"

"What a coincidence! I was just thinking that myself. Tell you what, I'll call everyone!"

"Okay! That sounds great. I have to go check in with Koenma anyways."

"Great! I'll see you at two this afternoon, then!"

"Yep! Bye!"

"Bye!"

The two hung up approximately simultaneously; Botan manifested her oar and headed off to tell Koenma while Keiko smiled happily. Everything was going according to the plans she and Kurama had laid... Now all she needed to do was get everyone else to agree, and that really shouldn't be all that hard... Everyone was keenly interested in the developing romance between the two.

"Koenma sir? May I come in?" asked Botan.

"Huh? Botan?" mumbled the ruler of the spirit world.

"Yes Sir. Did you fall asleep at your desk last night?"

"Oh. Yes, I did..."

"Anyways, Sir, I had some news to tell you."

"Tell away."

"Er... Me and Hiei are marked mates now."

"WHAT?"

Three hallways down an ogre looked up from his work. "Well, it sounds like Koenma woke up fully."

"What in the name of my father possessed you to do **that?**" yelled Koenma. His voice was quieter, at least, though still painfully loud.

"I fell in love, Sir." said Botan, looking highly affronted.

Koenma sagged suddenly, looking very tired.

"I'll continue to work here," said Botan, less annoyed.

"I, um, congratulations," said George, who had been previously ignored.

"**Thank **you!" said Botan to the ogre.

"Why Hiei?" asked Koenma.

"Why does anybody love anyone?" countered the angry ferry girl.

"Oh..." said Koenma, beginning to understand. He had been in love before... "Okay, then, I congratulate you and hope luck follows you. This isn't getting you out of work, though-- the rain's caused flooding and lots of colds and the death count is unusually high." He frowned. "I've been so over-worked..."

"Umm... Yes, Sir. Actually, this is the last day of my vacation; may I please be excused?"

Koenma sighed. "Yes, you can..."

"Great!" said Keiko to herself. "Everyone can make it!"

"Hiei," said Kurama as a form of greeting as his friend 'appeared' on his windowsill.

"Fox," replied the half-koorime.

"How's Botan?" questioned Kurama, shrewdly thinking over his line of questioning and encouragement.

"Good," said Hiei, pausing before attempting to continue. Kurama, lost in his thoughts and plans and unused to Hiei offering long explanations, cut him off before he could explain any more.

"That's good. You know, Keiko was telling me that she thinks Botan is really lonely; she wants someone to love her, but she thinks nobody will..."

"Fox. Kurama? You listening?"

"...It's interesting, really, how such a wonderful person can think she's so worthless..."

"I marked her; she's my mate now."

"...And all she really needs is someone to love her. Pity she'll never accept it unless... Wait, what?"

Hiei smirked. It was rare that he got one up on Kurama.

"Me. Botan. Mates. Since last night."

"..." Kurama was truly surprised. "How did that happen?"

Hiei settled in as he began to tell the kitsune the events that had happened the night before.

Kurama felt stupid. Really stupid. It was a rare event.

"So you marked each other even after all that?"

"Yes."

Kurama smiled. Hiei, mated... Even just a while ago he would have found the idea laughable. Now... "Wonderful! I'm very happy for you both."

Botan was the last to arrive at Keiko's house. "I have news!" she announced as she bounced in the door.

"What kind of news?" asked Yukina politely, but before Botan could answer Keiko and Shizuru had swept her over to the couch.

Shizuru wasn't exactly known for subtlety and restraint.

"Question and answer time. You love Hiei?"

"Yes, but..."

"And he loves you?"

"Yes, and..."

"Just answer the questions. Why haven't you marked him yet?"

"I've been trying to tell you! I have! Last night!"

You could have heard a pin drop for a few brief seconds.

"Good for you," said Shizuru calmly, the first to speak.

Yukina gave a secretive happy smile.

"Come again?" asked Keiko.

"Eeee! That's great, Botan! I'm so happy for you!" said Kagome, hugging her.

Keiko finally recovered enough to give a decent response. She joined Kagome in hugging the stuffing out of the deity, voicing her congratulations.

Botan couldn't wipe her big grin off of her face.

"Here's what happened..." she began.

Hiei and Botan together went to tell Kuwabara and Yusuke. They found the two boys together--though they fought a lot they were really friends, in a strange sense of the word--walking down the streets, heavily shadowed from the evening, the occasional drop of rain still falling.

"Hello!" called out Botan cheerily.

"Botan!" greeted Yusuke. "And her creepy short shadow!"

Hiei gave a death glare sharp enough to shatter most rocks, but not quite all.

Kuwabara gave a weird twitch as he looked at the deity and the demon standing side by side, shooting them both a weird glance before he realized his kitten had wandered off.

"Eikichi!" he yelled, running off in pursuit of the fluffball. Everyone sighed; sometimes it really wasn't worth it. Especially when it came to Kuwabara.

"We have something to tell you," said Botan, ignoring the absence of Kuwabara. They'd tell him whenever he got back.

"Yeh?" said Yusuke.

"Hiei and I are mated now."

"Whaa...!" managed Yusuke, walking right into a telephone pole.

"I think he's in a state of shock," said Botan concernedly.

"Hn."

"You two are **mated**?" screeched Yusuke.

"Shhhh!" said Botan, glancing pointedly at the other people along the street.

"Yes. We are." said Hiei, voice monotone.

"Whoah... That was unexpected... No it wasn't... But **man**!"

Botan sighed.

Kuwabara came running back up, Eikichi safe in his hands.

"What happened to Urameshi there?" he asked.

"Lost a fight with a telephone pole," said Hiei.

"...can't wait to see what'll happen when the oaf finds out..." sniggered Yusuke.

"Finds out what?" said aforementioned 'oaf.'

"I'm mated with Hiei," said Botan.

"That? I already knew. You mean you couldn't? You're an idiot, Yusuke." said Kuwabara.

"...How?" asked Botan.

"Your giving off happier feelings that mix with each other, you're standing differently and Botan at least has a cut in the right place."

Botan glanced down at her shoulder; sure enough the scoop neck on her top revealed the mark.

Everyone stared, dumbfounded, at Kuwabara.

"Oh no! It's time for Eikichi's dinner!" he yelled suddenly, running off.

Yusuke looked very... stunned.

"...that's one of the creepiest things I've ever seen in my entire life..." he managed. "And I've seen a lot..."

Hiei looked almost as if his world was crumbling down around him.

Botan was amazed. "Is that even possible? What **is** that thing and where's Kuwabara?"

_Two Or So Weeks Later, at Genkai's temple. A party is being held to celebrate Hiei and Botan's marking._

Everyone was crowded inside as they watched the rain pour down on the party things put up outside.

"Why'd we have to hold it here?" grumped Genkai, who was less-than-happy about her temple being invaded.

"At least we got the food inside," said Yukina, attempting to improve the mood.

"Get your elbow out of my ribs, Urameshi," complained Kuwabara.

"Where's Botan?" asked Kagome.

"For that matter, where's Hiei?" responded Yusuke.

"There they are..." said Kurama, pointing back outside.

Hiei and Botan, both dripping wet from the rain, stood side by side, hands brushing, talking softly to each other. Oblivious to their audience their lips met in a gentle kiss, soft and sweet.

"Awwww..." Went three fourths of the guests. Even Genkai managed a small smile.

"...I love you," the two whispered, each to the other.

Sometimes...

Everything is for the best, and everything ends up perfect.

(1) For some reason I've become rather intrigued with the idea of Hiei having a higher body temperature than humans... I mean, with the whole fire-demon thing it makes sense...

**A/N**: .:sniffs:. It... It's all done... .:bursts into tears:.

You have all been marvelous readers and reviewers; you have no idea how wonderful, really. Thank you all. I really don't have much more to say; it's been a wonderful journey all the way to Hiei/Botan couplehood, and now it's done. Thank you again.

**Shout-Outs**:

Blue Angel 1245: You were my first reviewer for this chapter! Thank you! I'm glad you liked how Hiei and Botan marked each other even with their difficulties!

Nordic-Nymph: Even worse than Yusuke? I find that hard to believe. Don't worry, though, I have trouble keeping my mouth shut too. I'm much too sarcastic for my own good... Anyways, I'm glad you liked this chapter! Robert Frost does rule indeed!

KayHiei: I'm glad it was cute, and even gladder that they're finally mates. And you got to see Kurama's meddling! Yay! I updated as soon as I could manage! I was at astronomy camp so it took a while.

Animoon: That was the second-to-last chapter! This here's the last one. I'm really glad you liked Chapter six! I hope you like chappie seven too! I hope you get a chance to see Howl's Moving Castle! I loved it **sooooo** much...

Ryukotsusei: It's a very good thing indeed that Kurama didn't show up when Hiei destroyed his plantings! It would certainly have changed the outcome... I think that sentence was cut off; ffdotnet can certainly be annoying, hm? Especially quickedit... Anyways, I'm very glad you liked chapter six and hope you enjoy the last one as well!

Botan-Jaganshi: I'm glad you liked it! I like it too. .:grins:.

Silverchild of the winds: I'm glad you like it as well! Also happy to hear you think it was realistically done!

omasuoniwabanshi: I'm glad you like this chapter as well! Though I can name several people more qualified to be the undisputed monarch of Hiei/Botan WAFF... Oh well. I'm glad you picked up on the more subtle ways Hiei and Botan showed their love...

Yes, I'm very sure I'm only 14. .:grins:. I love ffdotnet because I'm judged as a writer, not a 14-year-old writer. When people know my age right off condescension seems to slip in...

Anyways, I'm glad you like my story so much. Truly, you've been one of my favorite reviewers; you're thoughtful, kind, coherent, regular and you always leave nice long comments. All I could wish for and more. Thank you, many times over!

Also, I sincerely hope I've got a great future ahead of me as a writer!

Thank you for reviewing!

Flaming Goddess: I'll resist the urge to snicker at your weather. Of course, pretty soon we'll be having 8-hour days... You almost cried? Really? Wow! That's what I was going for! I'm sorry about your headache. I hope you liked this chapter too!

emma: Thanks for reviewing! I'm afraid that this really is the last of the story, but I'll be starting a new one! I hope you'll like that one too. And see, you found out what Kurama and Keiko were planning!

H/B always: Lovely name, by the by! Thanks for reviewing! Your kind comments were greatly appreciated!

Miss Kyoshi: I am going to write another H/B story! I'm glad you liked this story! I hope the last chapter holds your interest too!

animefreak03: Sweet was exactly what I was going for! Thank you for reviewing!

Yokai no Miko: Thank you, many times over! You've been a wonderful inspiration! Also, thank you for asking questions! I love it when people do that.

Tracy Johnson: Thanks!

BlueWater26: Like I said earlier, sweet is what I was going for! It's one of my favorite things ever, right after reviewers like you, who keep on coming back! Thank you!

Aiiro-bara: You're completely right about lightness and darkness in stories, you know. I **definitely** couldn't have said it better myself. I'd love it if you'd continue to review future stories! I hope I continue to hold your attention. Late reviews are fine! In fact, they're a nice surprise!

RitSuYue: You liked your email? Thanks for mentioning it! Please, feel free to email me any time! I love getting emails from people! Thank you for your faithful reviewing!


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